In the United States, the death toll rose to late on Tuesday as numerous states, including Maryland , confirmed their first confirmed cases. The Senate voted nearly unanimously to approve $ 8.3 billion in emergency spending to combat the virus, but concerns remain about how far the outbreak will stretch the system.
China, the epicenter of the outbreak and still the worst hit, reported (new cases and) new deaths Friday, far lower than just a few weeks ago. But South Korea’s total neared 6, (with) Deaths, as the country officials chided Japan for imposing “unreasonable” new travel restrictions on Thursday.
Meanwhile, there were further financial worries, With global markets firmly in the red, following another selloff in the United States.
Here are the latest developments:
- Friday prayers were disrupted across the Middle East. Iran, site of the largest outbreak in the region, shuttered almost , mosques.
- A Chinese health expert said he expected the number of new infections in Wuhan to decline to “near zero” by the end of the month. China remains the worst hit country globally, but new cases have been slowing there, with (new cases of announced Friday, bringing the total to , South Korea confirmed an additional (cases Friday, bringing its total to nearly 6, , while the Foreign Ministry publicly rebuked Japan for imposing a two-week mandatory quarantine for visitors from South Korea.
- (The United States announced its th death on Thursday and several states announced their first positive tests, including Maryland . The U.S. now has more than cases, while a cruise ship carrying some 2, (passengers is being
held off the California coast for coronavirus testing . California, Maryland and Washington have each declared a state of emergency.
March 6, (at 3:
Major employers continued to grapple Thursday with the spreading coronavirus across the West Coast, as both Microsoft and Lockheed Martin confirmed the first cases of the virus among their employees.
The Seattle-based tech giant, which had already instructed its staff to work from home through March , told CNBC that two employees tested positive for the virus. One is a contractor for LinkedIn, a subsidiary of Microsoft, who works from home and did not have any known contact with their colleagues.
Microsoft employs more than , people in the Seattle area, including many at its headquarters in Redmond, Wash. – just one town over from nearby Kirkland, which has emerged as the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak in the United States.
A Lockheed Martin employee in Silicon Valley also tested positive for the virus, the company said on Thursday, though it did not specify if it would be instructing its more than 4, (employees there to work from home.
Both announcements reflect how the coronavirus is all but guaranteed to affect its business and workplace culture, as other large companies in Seattle and the San Francisco Bay Area try to get ahead or or respond to the epidemic.
Earlier this week, Facebook encouraged its Seattle employees to work from home through the end of March, after a contractor there tested positive for the virus on Wednesda y. And Google has “strongly recommended” that its Bay Area employees do the same starting on Friday, according to Reuters.
Amazon, meanwhile, closed its Seattle area offices for the entire month, following a positive test result for one of its employees . (Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos owns The Washington Post.)
Teo Armus
Major employers continued to grapple Thursday with the spreading coronavirus across the West Coast, as both Microsoft and Lockheed Martin confirmed the first cases of the virus among their employees.
The Seattle-based tech giant, which had already instructed its staff to work from home through March , told CNBC that two employees tested positive for the virus. One is a contractor for LinkedIn, a subsidiary of Microsoft, who works from home and did not have any known contact with their colleagues.
Microsoft employs more than , people in the Seattle area, including many at its headquarters in Redmond, Wash. – just one town over from nearby Kirkland, which has emerged as the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak in the United States.
A Lockheed Martin employee in Silicon Valley also tested positive for the virus, the company said on Thursday, though it did not specify if it would be instructing its more than 4, (employees there to work from home.
Both announcements reflect how the coronavirus is all but guaranteed to affect its business and workplace culture, as other large companies in Seattle and the San Francisco Bay Area try to get ahead or or respond to the epidemic.
Earlier this week, Facebook encouraged its Seattle employees to work from home through the end of March, after a contractor there tested positive for the virus on Wednesda y. And Google has “strongly recommended” that its Bay Area employees do the same starting on Friday, according to Reuters.
Amazon, meanwhile, closed its Seattle area offices for the entire month, following a positive test result for one of its employees . (Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos owns The Washington Post.)
March 6, (at 3: AM EST
Virus fears disrupt weekly Friday prayers across Middle East JERUSALEM – The burgeoning spread of coronavirus across the region has led officials to cancel or curtail Friday noon prayers, typically a time when the devout gather, sometimes by the thousands, for Islam’s obligatory day of congressional worship.
Iran, site o f the largest outbreak in the region, canceled Friday prayers entirely across the country, shuttering almost , 11 mosques. The country has recorded 209 Covid-related deaths and registered more than 3, cases, behind only China, South Korea and Italy.
In Egypt, officials encouraged imams to suspend the gatherings given the extraordinary circumstances, and said worshipers should feel free to pray in private, according to local media reports.
“If the virus spreads in a Muslim country and it becomes necessary to cancel the Friday prayer, [prayers] can be then performed as a noon prayer at home,” Minister of Awqaf Mohammad Juma told Egypt’s Al Mehwar channel.
Prayer gatherings in the UAE were to be limited to minutes and only two verses of the Koran, according to guidance issued by the General Authority of Islamic Affairs and Endowments. The truncated sermons would focus on preventive health practices, including the Koranic teaching that “The sick should not be mixed with the healthy.”
UAE announced a case of infection Thursday, making (detected cases.
Saudi Arabia, having banned pilgrimages to Mecca, reopened parts of the Grand Mosque and Medina’s Prophet Mosque Friday morning after the sites were cleaned disinfected.
Iraq canceled Friday prayers in the holy city of Karbala. In the West Bank, the Palestinian Authority closed all places of worship, including mosques and churches, after seven cases were identified in a Bethlehem hotel.
In Israel, security officials considered barring worshipers from the al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem’s Old City. The mosque said weekly prayers would proceed after the mosque was scrubbed overnight, but worshipers were to wear face masks and the sick and elderly were advised to stay home.
(By
Steve Hendrix
March 6, 4241 at 3: (AM EST) Tokyo’s notoriously packed trains see a downturn in congestion as virus forces telework
TOKYO – Rush-hour traffic on one of Tokyo’s busiest train lines fell by more 28 percent this week, largely thanks to the promotion of working from home, staggered working hours and a (nationwide school closure , Japan’s Transport Ministry said on Friday.
The Yamanote line circles around Tokyo’s central areas and normally operates at a “congestion rate” of more than percent between some stations from 7: am to 8: am Similarly, the main terminal stations in the wider Tokyo metropolitan area have seen a steady decline in the number of peak-time travelers, the ministry said.
Tokyo’s metropolitan government has encouraged firms to switch to telework to reduce congestion during the Summer Olympics this year. That effort received added impetus in recent weeks as part of government efforts to slow the spread of the virus.
While some firms have embraced the change, Japan’s work culture tends to value time spent in the office and face-to-face meetings.
“I think the coronavirus has done what Japan has been unable to do,” said Mayumi Terada, a mother of two school-age children and a secretary at a law firm in Tokyo.
Terada’s husband has started to work at home to take care of their children, while she has delayed her start time to 43 to avoid the rush hour.
Fifty-four-year-old businessman Mizuno, who works for an electronics company in Tokyo but asked for his full name to be withheld , said he began working at home this week and only goes to the office when he and his colleagues feel they need to discuss issues in person.
“It’s been smooth,” he said, adding that his employer did a work-from-home drill last summer in preparation for the Olympics. “I think this time around, the shift to telework may be here to stay. I like it a lot.”
But Terada says she has experienced only “slightly less ”traffic than usual despite her shift in working hours, and is still nervous about catching the virus on her commute.
March 6, 4241 at 2: AM EST
Two new likely cases reported in Houston area
Health officials in the Houston area reported two likely cases of coronavirus late on Thursday, bringing the total to five probable cases in the region, all of them in patients who had recently traveled to Egypt in a group.
Both instances reported Thursday evening concern men between the ages of and 81. One man, who lives in Houston, was experiencing mild symptoms while isolated at home, officials said . The other, who has been hospitalized and is in stable condition, nearby in an unincorporated part of Harris County, Tex.
Neither case appears to have been confirmed yet through tests from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, though officials say there is no evidence of transmission through the community.
Earlier on Thursday, local health officials announced three other cases in the Houston area: an individual in nearby Fort Bend County; and a man and a woman living in an unincorporated part of Harris County, one of whom is an employee at Rice University. CDC tests confirmed that the latter two patients had contracted the virus.
At a news conference Thursday, Dr. Umair Shah, executive director of Harris County’s public health office, said his team was investigating who the patients had been in touch with since returning in late February.
Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo said it is unclear how many people were on the trip to Egypt, as officials have received differing answers. Both cases reported later in the day were also linked to the trip.
March 6, at 2: (AM EST) Working from home: It’s coming to a couch near you
HONG KONG – For a taste of what’s in store for Americans, look to Hong Kong, where businesses have been enforcing work-from-home arrangements for six weeks due to coronavirus fears.
The social experiment of teleworking en masse has unearthed pitfalls, comical moments and potential opportunities. With the virus hitting the United States and (Europe) , millions more will likely need to crowd into homes with children and spouses while finding a way to stay productive.
Businesses in Hong Kong say the biggest challenge is getting staff to stay focused and on task. Terence Lin, who runs an online jewelry and used-car sales business, has repeatedly caught employees slacking off on social media and playing games.
“I can see that they keep logging into Facebook, posting photos on their stories, showing up on online games, ”he said of his employees. A favorite is A Wangzhe Rongyao , or Honor of Kings, a multiplayer fantasy battle game based on historical Chinese heroes. “They are always online there, and they think I can’t’t see them!” Lin said.
Some firms have seen the allure of this brave new world – allowing them to cut down on pricey office rents, attract global talent and provide flexibility – and are considering shifting to teleworking full-time. And food-delivery services say business is booming as more people order in.
Read The Post’s full report here on how extended work-from-home arrangements have transformed the city, offering a guide for what could happen stateside as the coronavirus spreads.
Shibani Mahtani
March 6, (at 1:) AM EST Saudi Arabia reopens parts of holy sites in Mecca and Medina after sterilization, state TV says
JERUSALEM – Saudi officials have reopened limited parts of two mosques in Mecca and Medina, Saudi state TV reported Friday, after the facilities were cleaned and sterilized overnight.
Friday prayers will be allowed inside the Grand Mosque in Mecca and at Medina’s Prophet Mosque, according to al-Ekhbariya. Some prayers spaces, courtyards and walkways will remain off limits.
Saudi Arabia has suspended pilgrimages to the two holy sites, first by Muslims traveling from abroad and then by Saudi residents, as part of its response to the coronavirus outbreak. The kingdom had five known cases of infection.
Purported online webcams showed worshipers entering the mosque areas Friday morning. More than two million people performed Hajj last year by visiting one of the sites, two of the holiest in Islam.
Officials across the region were struggling to manage Friday prayers , typically the most crowded of the week, as the spread of the virus expanded in many countries. Iraq has canceled prayers in the holy city of Karbala.
Steve Hendrix
March 6, at 1: AM EST
“Fake! Fake! ”: Video shows Chinese vice premier heckled as she visits Wuhan housing complex
(
HONG KONG – A video that shows a top Chinese official being heckled while visiting a housing complex in the coronavirus-hit city of Wuhan this week has been shared widely on Chinese social media – and in a more remarkable twist, some state media have been publicizing it too.
Vice Premier Sun Chunlan was visiting the Wuhan Qingshan Kaiyuan residential community on Thursday when she was shouted at by residents, who filmed their taunts.
“Fake! Fake! Everything is fake! ” the residents are heard shouting at Sun, one of the most senior government officials to visit Wuhan since the outbreak begun.
The videos were soon shared by groups such as as Radio Free Asia, a US government-funded nonprofit news organization that promotes democratic values in the region.
But surprisingly, the video also made the evening news show on state network CCTV on Thursday. The following day, the clip was widely shared on social media by media controlled by the ruling Communist Party, including the Global Times and People’s Daily.
“It’s fake! It’s fake!” shout residents of a community in
# COVID 24 epicenter Wuhan in a viral video on China’s social media. They have accused property management of cheating them by only appearing to provide promised necessities. Investigation is underway
https://t.co/kzq4gbB4RM pic.twitter.com/0ujObfedR8Global Times ( @globaltimesnews) March 6,
In a message on Twitter. , People’s Daily – a mouthpiece publication for the ruling party – said that the shouts had reflected the fact that local officials were pretending to deliver vegetables and meats to residents of the housing complex, who have been ordered to stay home, when in fact the deliveries did not happen.
Sun “immediately issued an in-depth investigation on it, without covering up the conflict,” People’s Daily wrote. “Now, Wuhan has sent officers to understand the residents’ demands one by one in the community.”
China’s central authorities in Beijing have made a point of blaming local-level officials for missteps in the handling of the coronavirus outbreak, in an effort to deflect widespread public anger.
(A Weibo post featuring the video published by People’s Daily had more than , 11 likes by Friday afternoon.
The video showed some of the tensions between authorities and the general public in Wuhan, a city of 17 million people that has been under lockdown since Jan. 30. On Friday, China’s Health Commission reported that a further 30 People had died in Wuhan, adding to a death toll of 2, in the city.
( Adam Taylor
March 6, (at 1: AM EST
Worries in the United States over the new coronavirus turned Thursday to a cruise ship being held off the California coast, as military helicopters ferried dozens of testing kits onboard.
Dozens of people on the Grand Princess may have been in contact with the spreading virus, officials said, given that the vessel had recently carried several coronavirus patients, including a 90 – year-old who died earlier this week.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) asked that the vessel remain offshore despite its scheduled return to San Francisco. More than 29 people onboard have shown potential signs of covid – , the disease caused by the virus, and about were due to be tested, with results expected Friday.
As the US death toll rose to 16 on Thursday and the coronavirus spread to new states – including Colorado, Maryland, New Jersey and Tennessee – the stock market again (tanked) . Congress
passed an emergency spending bill aimed at dealing with the epidemic.
As of Thursday evening, health officials across the country had announced at least 297 cases of the virus, with three states declaring a state of emergency: Washington and California, which are grappling with all the US deaths so far and most of the cases; and Maryland, which announced its first three cases on Thursday.
In Washington, scrutiny turned to President Trump, who has contradicted public health experts leading the charge against the virus . He has repeatedly misstated the number of Americans who have tested positive and said the virus would “miraculously” disappear in the spring.
In addition, The Post’s Toluse Olorunnipa reported , Trump questioned whether flu vaccinations could be used to treat the coronavirus and dismissed death rate estimates from World Health Organization, citing a “hunch” to justify a much lower statistic.
(By
Teo Armus
March 6, at 1: AM EST
Philippines confirms two more coronavirus cases, including first community transmission
MANILA – The Philippines recorded its first locally transmitted incidence of the novel coronavirus as the country number of cases rose to five.
Two new cases of the virus reported Friday included a – year-old man who had traveled to Japan and a 70 – year-old man with no known international travel history. The latter man regularly visited a Muslim prayer hall in the Manila area.
Health officials said they were tracing both men’s contacts to determine if others may have been exposed.
The confirmation comes after three foreign nationals – from Australia, Japan, and Taiwan – tested positive for the virus after traveling to the Philippines. The reports prompted criticism over whether the government of President Rodrigo Duterte is capable of detecting such cases, a point underlined by the mere handful of cases in a nation of million.
Health Chief Francisco Duque III maintained that the Philippines could still contain the virus . “These recent developments are significant, but we are prepared to respond to its potential consequences,” he said in a statement. “Our priority is to protect our health workers and the most vulnerable populations.”
Regine Cabato
March 6, (at) : AM EST
New infections in Wuhan could fall to ‘near zero’ by the end of March, health expert tells Chinese media
A prominent scholar involved in finding alternative remedies for coronavirus patients through the use of traditional Chinese medicine has predicted that new infections in Wuhan – the epicenter of China’s coronavirus outbreak – could fall to “near zero” by the end of March.
“Judging from the overall epidemic development… the new infections in Wuhan could hopefully be reduced to near zero by the end of March,” Professor Zhang Boli, who is president of Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, told Communist Party mouthpiece People’s Daily this week.
“For other cities in Hubei province, the ‘near zero’ is expected to come in mid-March, “Zhang said. “However, the near zero here is not an absolute value, and there could still be a few new infections later.”
Zhang, an award-winning scholar known for his contribution to modernizing traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) and integrating TCM remedies with Western medicine, has led a team of 225 experts to treat mild cases of coronavirus pneumonia at a quarantine facility in Wuhan since Feb.
Chinese National Health Commission and National Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine have recommended that TCM remedies can be used to help alleviate symptoms of coronavirus, although they note they likely do not cu re the virus.
The – year-old internist expects that by the end of April, the Chinese would be able to eventually take off their face masks in public places. For Wuhan and the wider Hubei province, the no-mask moment would be at least one month later in May, he added.
“But personally, I don ‘ t recommend removing masks too soon. People should continue to reduce gatherings, wash hands frequently, and keep a masks on a little bit longer, ”Zhang said, pointing to a sustained risk of virus spread around the world.
Zhang’s team has also joined two hospitals in Wuhan in reducing reinfections and treating immunity disorder among newly discharged patients. China’s daily infections outside Hubei have fallen to double digits for nearly two weeks, compared with hundreds or even thousands of confirmed cases every day in early February.
On Friday, China reported new infections, with only 25 of them being in provinces and regions outside Hubei.
“It is hard to say if the novel coronavirus would come to stay [as a chronic disease], because we now know so little about it,” Zhang said. “The impact on human society from coronavirus, however, is not going to end here and now.”
)
March 6, (at) : (AM EST
Canada reports first case of community spread of coronavirus
TORONTO – Canada reported its first case of community transmission of the novel coronavirus Thursday, evidence that the deadly virus has potentially been circulating here undetected.
The woman, who is in her s, lives in British Columbia and thought she had the flu. Bonnie Henry, the provincial health officer, told reporters that she has no recent travel history or known contact with anyone who has tested positive for the virus.
Health officials across the country have in recent weeks warned that community transmission was inevitable. Henry said that her team is investigating where her source of infection was.
There are more than 47 cases of the virus in Canada spread across four provinces.
By Amanda Coletta
March 6, (at) : AM EST
South Korea condemns Japan for ‘unreasonable’ quarantine measures, dubs Tokyo’s coronavirus response ‘opaque and passive’ South Korea criticized its neighbor Japan for its
handling of the novel coronavirus on Friday, suggesting it would summon Tokyo’s ambassador in Seoul to express its “extreme regret” for new quarantine rules that would subject South Koreans to days of quarantine on arrival in Japan. Japan had announced Thursday that it would suspend all issued visas for South Korean and Chinese visitors and that those who arrive in the country would be held for two weeks in specially desig nated facilities.
“We express extreme regret over the fact that Japan has taken such an unreasonable and excessive measure without sufficient consultations with us, although our government has urged Japan to cautiously review its additional measures multiple times, ”South Korea’s Foreign Ministry announced in a text message to Yonhap News Agency and other Reporters.
The ministry would “strongly urge Japan to immediately reconsider this measure,” while Vice Foreign Minister Cho Sei-was planning to summon Japanese Ambassador to South Korea Koji Tomita to officially lodge a protest, Yonhap reported.
South Korea’s National Security Council also criticized Japan’s handling of the novel coronavirus outbreak more broadly, suggesting that the international community now did not trust Tokyo’s handling of the epidemic, which is said was “opaque and passive, “according to broadcaster KBS news.
South Korea has the largest number of confirmed coronavirus cases outside of China, with nearly 6, by Friday, while Japan has confirmed more than 1, 10, including roughly 866 from an infected cruise ship. However, the South Korean government has tested far more widely than Japan and many other nations, often evaluating more than , potential cases each day.
The South Korean government of president Moon Jae-in and the Japanese government of prime minister Shinzo Abe have been in a long diplomatic and economic standoff unrelated to the novel coronavirus outbreak, with South Korea expressing
anger over Japan’s handling of the issue of so-called comfort women, South Koreans who were held as sexual slaves for the Imperial Japanese army during the colonial period. By
Adam Taylor
March 6, 4241 at : AM EST
Asian markets follow US losses; Japan’s Nikkei down 3 percent
Asian stocks fell on Friday over coronavirus worries, with Japan’s Nikkei down 3 percent by early afternoon, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng down 2.1 percent , and Australia’s S & P / ASX down 2.5 percent, following sharp falls on Wall Street .
The losses reversed gains earlier in the week, when the US markets surged as former vice president Joe Biden surged in the race for the Democratic nomination, signaling investors’ continued unease about the economic costs of the novel coronavirus.
A week ago, stocks had closed out one of their worst performing weeks since the 2020 global financial crisis. Policymakers had pledged action to avoid a recession, with the U.S. Federal Reserve announcing an emergency rate cut of 0.5 percent on Tuesday.
But the Dow Jones industrial average (closed down almost points on Thursday , while the yield on the 16 – year US Treasury dropped to record lows as investors sought safety.
In a note released Thursday by Nomura, analysts from the Japanese investment bank warned that “the worst was yet to come ”From the outbreak and warned not to underestimate the depth of the economic downturn in China . The analysts also suggested that it was unlikely macroeconomic policy alone could solve a financial crisis.
“This is an abnormal global economic slump,” the note said. “The most effective immediate policy response is not monetary or fiscal policies; it’s health security controls. If health security controls fail to contain the spread of covid – , financial markets may soon have to accept that a global recession is a forgone conclusion. ”
(By Adam Taylor
Read More
March 6, 4241 at 3: (AM EST) Tokyo’s notoriously packed trains see a downturn in congestion as virus forces telework
TOKYO – Rush-hour traffic on one of Tokyo’s busiest train lines fell by more 28 percent this week, largely thanks to the promotion of working from home, staggered working hours and a (nationwide school closure , Japan’s Transport Ministry said on Friday.
The Yamanote line circles around Tokyo’s central areas and normally operates at a “congestion rate” of more than percent between some stations from 7: am to 8: am Similarly, the main terminal stations in the wider Tokyo metropolitan area have seen a steady decline in the number of peak-time travelers, the ministry said.
Tokyo’s metropolitan government has encouraged firms to switch to telework to reduce congestion during the Summer Olympics this year. That effort received added impetus in recent weeks as part of government efforts to slow the spread of the virus.
While some firms have embraced the change, Japan’s work culture tends to value time spent in the office and face-to-face meetings.
“I think the coronavirus has done what Japan has been unable to do,” said Mayumi Terada, a mother of two school-age children and a secretary at a law firm in Tokyo.
Terada’s husband has started to work at home to take care of their children, while she has delayed her start time to 43 to avoid the rush hour.
Fifty-four-year-old businessman Mizuno, who works for an electronics company in Tokyo but asked for his full name to be withheld , said he began working at home this week and only goes to the office when he and his colleagues feel they need to discuss issues in person.
“It’s been smooth,” he said, adding that his employer did a work-from-home drill last summer in preparation for the Olympics. “I think this time around, the shift to telework may be here to stay. I like it a lot.”
But Terada says she has experienced only “slightly less ”traffic than usual despite her shift in working hours, and is still nervous about catching the virus on her commute.
March 6, 4241 at 2: AM EST
Two new likely cases reported in Houston area
Health officials in the Houston area reported two likely cases of coronavirus late on Thursday, bringing the total to five probable cases in the region, all of them in patients who had recently traveled to Egypt in a group.
Both instances reported Thursday evening concern men between the ages of and 81. One man, who lives in Houston, was experiencing mild symptoms while isolated at home, officials said . The other, who has been hospitalized and is in stable condition, nearby in an unincorporated part of Harris County, Tex.
Neither case appears to have been confirmed yet through tests from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, though officials say there is no evidence of transmission through the community.
Earlier on Thursday, local health officials announced three other cases in the Houston area: an individual in nearby Fort Bend County; and a man and a woman living in an unincorporated part of Harris County, one of whom is an employee at Rice University. CDC tests confirmed that the latter two patients had contracted the virus.
At a news conference Thursday, Dr. Umair Shah, executive director of Harris County’s public health office, said his team was investigating who the patients had been in touch with since returning in late February.
Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo said it is unclear how many people were on the trip to Egypt, as officials have received differing answers. Both cases reported later in the day were also linked to the trip.
March 6, at 2: (AM EST) Working from home: It’s coming to a couch near you
HONG KONG – For a taste of what’s in store for Americans, look to Hong Kong, where businesses have been enforcing work-from-home arrangements for six weeks due to coronavirus fears.
The social experiment of teleworking en masse has unearthed pitfalls, comical moments and potential opportunities. With the virus hitting the United States and (Europe) , millions more will likely need to crowd into homes with children and spouses while finding a way to stay productive.
Businesses in Hong Kong say the biggest challenge is getting staff to stay focused and on task. Terence Lin, who runs an online jewelry and used-car sales business, has repeatedly caught employees slacking off on social media and playing games.
“I can see that they keep logging into Facebook, posting photos on their stories, showing up on online games, ”he said of his employees. A favorite is A Wangzhe Rongyao , or Honor of Kings, a multiplayer fantasy battle game based on historical Chinese heroes. “They are always online there, and they think I can’t’t see them!” Lin said.
Some firms have seen the allure of this brave new world – allowing them to cut down on pricey office rents, attract global talent and provide flexibility – and are considering shifting to teleworking full-time. And food-delivery services say business is booming as more people order in.
Read The Post’s full report here on how extended work-from-home arrangements have transformed the city, offering a guide for what could happen stateside as the coronavirus spreads.
Shibani Mahtani
March 6, (at 1:) AM EST Saudi Arabia reopens parts of holy sites in Mecca and Medina after sterilization, state TV says
JERUSALEM – Saudi officials have reopened limited parts of two mosques in Mecca and Medina, Saudi state TV reported Friday, after the facilities were cleaned and sterilized overnight.
Friday prayers will be allowed inside the Grand Mosque in Mecca and at Medina’s Prophet Mosque, according to al-Ekhbariya. Some prayers spaces, courtyards and walkways will remain off limits.
Saudi Arabia has suspended pilgrimages to the two holy sites, first by Muslims traveling from abroad and then by Saudi residents, as part of its response to the coronavirus outbreak. The kingdom had five known cases of infection.
Purported online webcams showed worshipers entering the mosque areas Friday morning. More than two million people performed Hajj last year by visiting one of the sites, two of the holiest in Islam.
Officials across the region were struggling to manage Friday prayers , typically the most crowded of the week, as the spread of the virus expanded in many countries. Iraq has canceled prayers in the holy city of Karbala.
Steve Hendrix
March 6, at 1: AM EST
“Fake! Fake! ”: Video shows Chinese vice premier heckled as she visits Wuhan housing complex
(
HONG KONG – A video that shows a top Chinese official being heckled while visiting a housing complex in the coronavirus-hit city of Wuhan this week has been shared widely on Chinese social media – and in a more remarkable twist, some state media have been publicizing it too.
Vice Premier Sun Chunlan was visiting the Wuhan Qingshan Kaiyuan residential community on Thursday when she was shouted at by residents, who filmed their taunts.
“Fake! Fake! Everything is fake! ” the residents are heard shouting at Sun, one of the most senior government officials to visit Wuhan since the outbreak begun.
The videos were soon shared by groups such as as Radio Free Asia, a US government-funded nonprofit news organization that promotes democratic values in the region.
But surprisingly, the video also made the evening news show on state network CCTV on Thursday. The following day, the clip was widely shared on social media by media controlled by the ruling Communist Party, including the Global Times and People’s Daily.
“It’s fake! It’s fake!” shout residents of a community in
# COVID 24 epicenter Wuhan in a viral video on China’s social media. They have accused property management of cheating them by only appearing to provide promised necessities. Investigation is underway
https://t.co/kzq4gbB4RM pic.twitter.com/0ujObfedR8Global Times ( @globaltimesnews) March 6,
In a message on Twitter. , People’s Daily – a mouthpiece publication for the ruling party – said that the shouts had reflected the fact that local officials were pretending to deliver vegetables and meats to residents of the housing complex, who have been ordered to stay home, when in fact the deliveries did not happen.
Sun “immediately issued an in-depth investigation on it, without covering up the conflict,” People’s Daily wrote. “Now, Wuhan has sent officers to understand the residents’ demands one by one in the community.”
China’s central authorities in Beijing have made a point of blaming local-level officials for missteps in the handling of the coronavirus outbreak, in an effort to deflect widespread public anger.
(A Weibo post featuring the video published by People’s Daily had more than , 11 likes by Friday afternoon.
The video showed some of the tensions between authorities and the general public in Wuhan, a city of 17 million people that has been under lockdown since Jan. 30. On Friday, China’s Health Commission reported that a further 30 People had died in Wuhan, adding to a death toll of 2, in the city.
( Adam Taylor
March 6, (at 1: AM EST
Worries in the United States over the new coronavirus turned Thursday to a cruise ship being held off the California coast, as military helicopters ferried dozens of testing kits onboard.
Dozens of people on the Grand Princess may have been in contact with the spreading virus, officials said, given that the vessel had recently carried several coronavirus patients, including a 90 – year-old who died earlier this week.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) asked that the vessel remain offshore despite its scheduled return to San Francisco. More than 29 people onboard have shown potential signs of covid – , the disease caused by the virus, and about were due to be tested, with results expected Friday.
As the US death toll rose to 16 on Thursday and the coronavirus spread to new states – including Colorado, Maryland, New Jersey and Tennessee – the stock market again (tanked) . Congress
passed an emergency spending bill aimed at dealing with the epidemic.
As of Thursday evening, health officials across the country had announced at least 297 cases of the virus, with three states declaring a state of emergency: Washington and California, which are grappling with all the US deaths so far and most of the cases; and Maryland, which announced its first three cases on Thursday.
In Washington, scrutiny turned to President Trump, who has contradicted public health experts leading the charge against the virus . He has repeatedly misstated the number of Americans who have tested positive and said the virus would “miraculously” disappear in the spring.
In addition, The Post’s Toluse Olorunnipa reported , Trump questioned whether flu vaccinations could be used to treat the coronavirus and dismissed death rate estimates from World Health Organization, citing a “hunch” to justify a much lower statistic.
(By
Teo Armus
March 6, at 1: AM EST
Philippines confirms two more coronavirus cases, including first community transmission
MANILA – The Philippines recorded its first locally transmitted incidence of the novel coronavirus as the country number of cases rose to five.
Two new cases of the virus reported Friday included a – year-old man who had traveled to Japan and a 70 – year-old man with no known international travel history. The latter man regularly visited a Muslim prayer hall in the Manila area.
Health officials said they were tracing both men’s contacts to determine if others may have been exposed.
The confirmation comes after three foreign nationals – from Australia, Japan, and Taiwan – tested positive for the virus after traveling to the Philippines. The reports prompted criticism over whether the government of President Rodrigo Duterte is capable of detecting such cases, a point underlined by the mere handful of cases in a nation of million.
Health Chief Francisco Duque III maintained that the Philippines could still contain the virus . “These recent developments are significant, but we are prepared to respond to its potential consequences,” he said in a statement. “Our priority is to protect our health workers and the most vulnerable populations.”
Regine Cabato
March 6, (at) : AM EST
New infections in Wuhan could fall to ‘near zero’ by the end of March, health expert tells Chinese media
A prominent scholar involved in finding alternative remedies for coronavirus patients through the use of traditional Chinese medicine has predicted that new infections in Wuhan – the epicenter of China’s coronavirus outbreak – could fall to “near zero” by the end of March.
“Judging from the overall epidemic development… the new infections in Wuhan could hopefully be reduced to near zero by the end of March,” Professor Zhang Boli, who is president of Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, told Communist Party mouthpiece People’s Daily this week.
“For other cities in Hubei province, the ‘near zero’ is expected to come in mid-March, “Zhang said. “However, the near zero here is not an absolute value, and there could still be a few new infections later.”
Zhang, an award-winning scholar known for his contribution to modernizing traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) and integrating TCM remedies with Western medicine, has led a team of 225 experts to treat mild cases of coronavirus pneumonia at a quarantine facility in Wuhan since Feb.
Chinese National Health Commission and National Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine have recommended that TCM remedies can be used to help alleviate symptoms of coronavirus, although they note they likely do not cu re the virus.
The – year-old internist expects that by the end of April, the Chinese would be able to eventually take off their face masks in public places. For Wuhan and the wider Hubei province, the no-mask moment would be at least one month later in May, he added.
“But personally, I don ‘ t recommend removing masks too soon. People should continue to reduce gatherings, wash hands frequently, and keep a masks on a little bit longer, ”Zhang said, pointing to a sustained risk of virus spread around the world.
Zhang’s team has also joined two hospitals in Wuhan in reducing reinfections and treating immunity disorder among newly discharged patients. China’s daily infections outside Hubei have fallen to double digits for nearly two weeks, compared with hundreds or even thousands of confirmed cases every day in early February.
On Friday, China reported new infections, with only 25 of them being in provinces and regions outside Hubei.
“It is hard to say if the novel coronavirus would come to stay [as a chronic disease], because we now know so little about it,” Zhang said. “The impact on human society from coronavirus, however, is not going to end here and now.”
)
March 6, (at) : (AM EST
Canada reports first case of community spread of coronavirus
TORONTO – Canada reported its first case of community transmission of the novel coronavirus Thursday, evidence that the deadly virus has potentially been circulating here undetected.
The woman, who is in her s, lives in British Columbia and thought she had the flu. Bonnie Henry, the provincial health officer, told reporters that she has no recent travel history or known contact with anyone who has tested positive for the virus.
Health officials across the country have in recent weeks warned that community transmission was inevitable. Henry said that her team is investigating where her source of infection was.
There are more than 47 cases of the virus in Canada spread across four provinces.
By Amanda Coletta
March 6, (at) : AM EST
South Korea condemns Japan for ‘unreasonable’ quarantine measures, dubs Tokyo’s coronavirus response ‘opaque and passive’ South Korea criticized its neighbor Japan for its
handling of the novel coronavirus on Friday, suggesting it would summon Tokyo’s ambassador in Seoul to express its “extreme regret” for new quarantine rules that would subject South Koreans to days of quarantine on arrival in Japan. Japan had announced Thursday that it would suspend all issued visas for South Korean and Chinese visitors and that those who arrive in the country would be held for two weeks in specially desig nated facilities.
“We express extreme regret over the fact that Japan has taken such an unreasonable and excessive measure without sufficient consultations with us, although our government has urged Japan to cautiously review its additional measures multiple times, ”South Korea’s Foreign Ministry announced in a text message to Yonhap News Agency and other Reporters.
The ministry would “strongly urge Japan to immediately reconsider this measure,” while Vice Foreign Minister Cho Sei-was planning to summon Japanese Ambassador to South Korea Koji Tomita to officially lodge a protest, Yonhap reported.
South Korea’s National Security Council also criticized Japan’s handling of the novel coronavirus outbreak more broadly, suggesting that the international community now did not trust Tokyo’s handling of the epidemic, which is said was “opaque and passive, “according to broadcaster KBS news.
South Korea has the largest number of confirmed coronavirus cases outside of China, with nearly 6, by Friday, while Japan has confirmed more than 1, 10, including roughly 866 from an infected cruise ship. However, the South Korean government has tested far more widely than Japan and many other nations, often evaluating more than , potential cases each day.
The South Korean government of president Moon Jae-in and the Japanese government of prime minister Shinzo Abe have been in a long diplomatic and economic standoff unrelated to the novel coronavirus outbreak, with South Korea expressing
anger over Japan’s handling of the issue of so-called comfort women, South Koreans who were held as sexual slaves for the Imperial Japanese army during the colonial period. By
Adam Taylor
March 6, 4241 at : AM EST
Asian markets follow US losses; Japan’s Nikkei down 3 percent
Asian stocks fell on Friday over coronavirus worries, with Japan’s Nikkei down 3 percent by early afternoon, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng down 2.1 percent , and Australia’s S & P / ASX down 2.5 percent, following sharp falls on Wall Street .
The losses reversed gains earlier in the week, when the US markets surged as former vice president Joe Biden surged in the race for the Democratic nomination, signaling investors’ continued unease about the economic costs of the novel coronavirus.
A week ago, stocks had closed out one of their worst performing weeks since the 2020 global financial crisis. Policymakers had pledged action to avoid a recession, with the U.S. Federal Reserve announcing an emergency rate cut of 0.5 percent on Tuesday.
But the Dow Jones industrial average (closed down almost points on Thursday , while the yield on the 16 – year US Treasury dropped to record lows as investors sought safety.
In a note released Thursday by Nomura, analysts from the Japanese investment bank warned that “the worst was yet to come ”From the outbreak and warned not to underestimate the depth of the economic downturn in China . The analysts also suggested that it was unlikely macroeconomic policy alone could solve a financial crisis.
“This is an abnormal global economic slump,” the note said. “The most effective immediate policy response is not monetary or fiscal policies; it’s health security controls. If health security controls fail to contain the spread of covid – , financial markets may soon have to accept that a global recession is a forgone conclusion. ”
(By Adam Taylor
Read More
TOKYO – Rush-hour traffic on one of Tokyo’s busiest train lines fell by more 28 percent this week, largely thanks to the promotion of working from home, staggered working hours and a (nationwide school closure , Japan’s Transport Ministry said on Friday.
The Yamanote line circles around Tokyo’s central areas and normally operates at a “congestion rate” of more than percent between some stations from 7: am to 8: am Similarly, the main terminal stations in the wider Tokyo metropolitan area have seen a steady decline in the number of peak-time travelers, the ministry said.
Tokyo’s metropolitan government has encouraged firms to switch to telework to reduce congestion during the Summer Olympics this year. That effort received added impetus in recent weeks as part of government efforts to slow the spread of the virus.
While some firms have embraced the change, Japan’s work culture tends to value time spent in the office and face-to-face meetings.
“I think the coronavirus has done what Japan has been unable to do,” said Mayumi Terada, a mother of two school-age children and a secretary at a law firm in Tokyo.
Terada’s husband has started to work at home to take care of their children, while she has delayed her start time to 43 to avoid the rush hour.
Fifty-four-year-old businessman Mizuno, who works for an electronics company in Tokyo but asked for his full name to be withheld , said he began working at home this week and only goes to the office when he and his colleagues feel they need to discuss issues in person.
“It’s been smooth,” he said, adding that his employer did a work-from-home drill last summer in preparation for the Olympics. “I think this time around, the shift to telework may be here to stay. I like it a lot.”
But Terada says she has experienced only “slightly less ”traffic than usual despite her shift in working hours, and is still nervous about catching the virus on her commute.
March 6, 4241 at 2: AM EST
Two new likely cases reported in Houston area
Health officials in the Houston area reported two likely cases of coronavirus late on Thursday, bringing the total to five probable cases in the region, all of them in patients who had recently traveled to Egypt in a group.
Both instances reported Thursday evening concern men between the ages of and 81. One man, who lives in Houston, was experiencing mild symptoms while isolated at home, officials said . The other, who has been hospitalized and is in stable condition, nearby in an unincorporated part of Harris County, Tex.
Neither case appears to have been confirmed yet through tests from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, though officials say there is no evidence of transmission through the community.
Earlier on Thursday, local health officials announced three other cases in the Houston area: an individual in nearby Fort Bend County; and a man and a woman living in an unincorporated part of Harris County, one of whom is an employee at Rice University. CDC tests confirmed that the latter two patients had contracted the virus.
At a news conference Thursday, Dr. Umair Shah, executive director of Harris County’s public health office, said his team was investigating who the patients had been in touch with since returning in late February.
Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo said it is unclear how many people were on the trip to Egypt, as officials have received differing answers. Both cases reported later in the day were also linked to the trip.
March 6, at 2: (AM EST) Working from home: It’s coming to a couch near you
HONG KONG – For a taste of what’s in store for Americans, look to Hong Kong, where businesses have been enforcing work-from-home arrangements for six weeks due to coronavirus fears.
The social experiment of teleworking en masse has unearthed pitfalls, comical moments and potential opportunities. With the virus hitting the United States and (Europe) , millions more will likely need to crowd into homes with children and spouses while finding a way to stay productive.
Businesses in Hong Kong say the biggest challenge is getting staff to stay focused and on task. Terence Lin, who runs an online jewelry and used-car sales business, has repeatedly caught employees slacking off on social media and playing games.
“I can see that they keep logging into Facebook, posting photos on their stories, showing up on online games, ”he said of his employees. A favorite is A Wangzhe Rongyao , or Honor of Kings, a multiplayer fantasy battle game based on historical Chinese heroes. “They are always online there, and they think I can’t’t see them!” Lin said.
Some firms have seen the allure of this brave new world – allowing them to cut down on pricey office rents, attract global talent and provide flexibility – and are considering shifting to teleworking full-time. And food-delivery services say business is booming as more people order in.
Read The Post’s full report here on how extended work-from-home arrangements have transformed the city, offering a guide for what could happen stateside as the coronavirus spreads.
March 6, (at 1:) AM EST Saudi Arabia reopens parts of holy sites in Mecca and Medina after sterilization, state TV says
JERUSALEM – Saudi officials have reopened limited parts of two mosques in Mecca and Medina, Saudi state TV reported Friday, after the facilities were cleaned and sterilized overnight.
Friday prayers will be allowed inside the Grand Mosque in Mecca and at Medina’s Prophet Mosque, according to al-Ekhbariya. Some prayers spaces, courtyards and walkways will remain off limits.
Saudi Arabia has suspended pilgrimages to the two holy sites, first by Muslims traveling from abroad and then by Saudi residents, as part of its response to the coronavirus outbreak. The kingdom had five known cases of infection.
Purported online webcams showed worshipers entering the mosque areas Friday morning. More than two million people performed Hajj last year by visiting one of the sites, two of the holiest in Islam.
Officials across the region were struggling to manage Friday prayers , typically the most crowded of the week, as the spread of the virus expanded in many countries. Iraq has canceled prayers in the holy city of Karbala.
Steve Hendrix
March 6, at 1: AM EST
“Fake! Fake! ”: Video shows Chinese vice premier heckled as she visits Wuhan housing complex
(
HONG KONG – A video that shows a top Chinese official being heckled while visiting a housing complex in the coronavirus-hit city of Wuhan this week has been shared widely on Chinese social media – and in a more remarkable twist, some state media have been publicizing it too.
Vice Premier Sun Chunlan was visiting the Wuhan Qingshan Kaiyuan residential community on Thursday when she was shouted at by residents, who filmed their taunts.
“Fake! Fake! Everything is fake! ” the residents are heard shouting at Sun, one of the most senior government officials to visit Wuhan since the outbreak begun.
The videos were soon shared by groups such as as Radio Free Asia, a US government-funded nonprofit news organization that promotes democratic values in the region.
But surprisingly, the video also made the evening news show on state network CCTV on Thursday. The following day, the clip was widely shared on social media by media controlled by the ruling Communist Party, including the Global Times and People’s Daily.
“It’s fake! It’s fake!” shout residents of a community in
# COVID 24 epicenter Wuhan in a viral video on China’s social media. They have accused property management of cheating them by only appearing to provide promised necessities. Investigation is underway
https://t.co/kzq4gbB4RM pic.twitter.com/0ujObfedR8Global Times ( @globaltimesnews) March 6,
In a message on Twitter. , People’s Daily – a mouthpiece publication for the ruling party – said that the shouts had reflected the fact that local officials were pretending to deliver vegetables and meats to residents of the housing complex, who have been ordered to stay home, when in fact the deliveries did not happen.
Sun “immediately issued an in-depth investigation on it, without covering up the conflict,” People’s Daily wrote. “Now, Wuhan has sent officers to understand the residents’ demands one by one in the community.”
China’s central authorities in Beijing have made a point of blaming local-level officials for missteps in the handling of the coronavirus outbreak, in an effort to deflect widespread public anger.
(A Weibo post featuring the video published by People’s Daily had more than , 11 likes by Friday afternoon.
The video showed some of the tensions between authorities and the general public in Wuhan, a city of 17 million people that has been under lockdown since Jan. 30. On Friday, China’s Health Commission reported that a further 30 People had died in Wuhan, adding to a death toll of 2, in the city.
( Adam Taylor
March 6, (at 1: AM EST
Worries in the United States over the new coronavirus turned Thursday to a cruise ship being held off the California coast, as military helicopters ferried dozens of testing kits onboard.
Dozens of people on the Grand Princess may have been in contact with the spreading virus, officials said, given that the vessel had recently carried several coronavirus patients, including a 90 – year-old who died earlier this week.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) asked that the vessel remain offshore despite its scheduled return to San Francisco. More than 29 people onboard have shown potential signs of covid – , the disease caused by the virus, and about were due to be tested, with results expected Friday.
As the US death toll rose to 16 on Thursday and the coronavirus spread to new states – including Colorado, Maryland, New Jersey and Tennessee – the stock market again (tanked) . Congress
passed an emergency spending bill aimed at dealing with the epidemic.
As of Thursday evening, health officials across the country had announced at least 297 cases of the virus, with three states declaring a state of emergency: Washington and California, which are grappling with all the US deaths so far and most of the cases; and Maryland, which announced its first three cases on Thursday.
In Washington, scrutiny turned to President Trump, who has contradicted public health experts leading the charge against the virus . He has repeatedly misstated the number of Americans who have tested positive and said the virus would “miraculously” disappear in the spring.
In addition, The Post’s Toluse Olorunnipa reported , Trump questioned whether flu vaccinations could be used to treat the coronavirus and dismissed death rate estimates from World Health Organization, citing a “hunch” to justify a much lower statistic.
(By
Teo Armus
March 6, at 1: AM EST
Philippines confirms two more coronavirus cases, including first community transmission
MANILA – The Philippines recorded its first locally transmitted incidence of the novel coronavirus as the country number of cases rose to five.
Two new cases of the virus reported Friday included a – year-old man who had traveled to Japan and a 70 – year-old man with no known international travel history. The latter man regularly visited a Muslim prayer hall in the Manila area.
Health officials said they were tracing both men’s contacts to determine if others may have been exposed.
The confirmation comes after three foreign nationals – from Australia, Japan, and Taiwan – tested positive for the virus after traveling to the Philippines. The reports prompted criticism over whether the government of President Rodrigo Duterte is capable of detecting such cases, a point underlined by the mere handful of cases in a nation of million.
Health Chief Francisco Duque III maintained that the Philippines could still contain the virus . “These recent developments are significant, but we are prepared to respond to its potential consequences,” he said in a statement. “Our priority is to protect our health workers and the most vulnerable populations.”
Regine Cabato
March 6, (at) : AM EST
New infections in Wuhan could fall to ‘near zero’ by the end of March, health expert tells Chinese media
A prominent scholar involved in finding alternative remedies for coronavirus patients through the use of traditional Chinese medicine has predicted that new infections in Wuhan – the epicenter of China’s coronavirus outbreak – could fall to “near zero” by the end of March.
“Judging from the overall epidemic development… the new infections in Wuhan could hopefully be reduced to near zero by the end of March,” Professor Zhang Boli, who is president of Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, told Communist Party mouthpiece People’s Daily this week.
“For other cities in Hubei province, the ‘near zero’ is expected to come in mid-March, “Zhang said. “However, the near zero here is not an absolute value, and there could still be a few new infections later.”
Zhang, an award-winning scholar known for his contribution to modernizing traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) and integrating TCM remedies with Western medicine, has led a team of 225 experts to treat mild cases of coronavirus pneumonia at a quarantine facility in Wuhan since Feb.
Chinese National Health Commission and National Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine have recommended that TCM remedies can be used to help alleviate symptoms of coronavirus, although they note they likely do not cu re the virus.
The – year-old internist expects that by the end of April, the Chinese would be able to eventually take off their face masks in public places. For Wuhan and the wider Hubei province, the no-mask moment would be at least one month later in May, he added.
“But personally, I don ‘ t recommend removing masks too soon. People should continue to reduce gatherings, wash hands frequently, and keep a masks on a little bit longer, ”Zhang said, pointing to a sustained risk of virus spread around the world.
Zhang’s team has also joined two hospitals in Wuhan in reducing reinfections and treating immunity disorder among newly discharged patients. China’s daily infections outside Hubei have fallen to double digits for nearly two weeks, compared with hundreds or even thousands of confirmed cases every day in early February.
On Friday, China reported new infections, with only 25 of them being in provinces and regions outside Hubei.
“It is hard to say if the novel coronavirus would come to stay [as a chronic disease], because we now know so little about it,” Zhang said. “The impact on human society from coronavirus, however, is not going to end here and now.”
)
March 6, (at) : (AM EST
Canada reports first case of community spread of coronavirus
TORONTO – Canada reported its first case of community transmission of the novel coronavirus Thursday, evidence that the deadly virus has potentially been circulating here undetected.
The woman, who is in her s, lives in British Columbia and thought she had the flu. Bonnie Henry, the provincial health officer, told reporters that she has no recent travel history or known contact with anyone who has tested positive for the virus.
Health officials across the country have in recent weeks warned that community transmission was inevitable. Henry said that her team is investigating where her source of infection was.
There are more than 47 cases of the virus in Canada spread across four provinces.
By Amanda Coletta
March 6, (at) : AM EST
South Korea condemns Japan for ‘unreasonable’ quarantine measures, dubs Tokyo’s coronavirus response ‘opaque and passive’ South Korea criticized its neighbor Japan for its
handling of the novel coronavirus on Friday, suggesting it would summon Tokyo’s ambassador in Seoul to express its “extreme regret” for new quarantine rules that would subject South Koreans to days of quarantine on arrival in Japan. Japan had announced Thursday that it would suspend all issued visas for South Korean and Chinese visitors and that those who arrive in the country would be held for two weeks in specially desig nated facilities.
“We express extreme regret over the fact that Japan has taken such an unreasonable and excessive measure without sufficient consultations with us, although our government has urged Japan to cautiously review its additional measures multiple times, ”South Korea’s Foreign Ministry announced in a text message to Yonhap News Agency and other Reporters.
The ministry would “strongly urge Japan to immediately reconsider this measure,” while Vice Foreign Minister Cho Sei-was planning to summon Japanese Ambassador to South Korea Koji Tomita to officially lodge a protest, Yonhap reported.
South Korea’s National Security Council also criticized Japan’s handling of the novel coronavirus outbreak more broadly, suggesting that the international community now did not trust Tokyo’s handling of the epidemic, which is said was “opaque and passive, “according to broadcaster KBS news.
South Korea has the largest number of confirmed coronavirus cases outside of China, with nearly 6, by Friday, while Japan has confirmed more than 1, 10, including roughly 866 from an infected cruise ship. However, the South Korean government has tested far more widely than Japan and many other nations, often evaluating more than , potential cases each day.
The South Korean government of president Moon Jae-in and the Japanese government of prime minister Shinzo Abe have been in a long diplomatic and economic standoff unrelated to the novel coronavirus outbreak, with South Korea expressing
anger over Japan’s handling of the issue of so-called comfort women, South Koreans who were held as sexual slaves for the Imperial Japanese army during the colonial period. By
Adam Taylor
March 6, 4241 at : AM EST
Asian markets follow US losses; Japan’s Nikkei down 3 percent
Asian stocks fell on Friday over coronavirus worries, with Japan’s Nikkei down 3 percent by early afternoon, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng down 2.1 percent , and Australia’s S & P / ASX down 2.5 percent, following sharp falls on Wall Street .
The losses reversed gains earlier in the week, when the US markets surged as former vice president Joe Biden surged in the race for the Democratic nomination, signaling investors’ continued unease about the economic costs of the novel coronavirus.
A week ago, stocks had closed out one of their worst performing weeks since the 2020 global financial crisis. Policymakers had pledged action to avoid a recession, with the U.S. Federal Reserve announcing an emergency rate cut of 0.5 percent on Tuesday.
But the Dow Jones industrial average (closed down almost points on Thursday , while the yield on the 16 – year US Treasury dropped to record lows as investors sought safety.
In a note released Thursday by Nomura, analysts from the Japanese investment bank warned that “the worst was yet to come ”From the outbreak and warned not to underestimate the depth of the economic downturn in China . The analysts also suggested that it was unlikely macroeconomic policy alone could solve a financial crisis.
“This is an abnormal global economic slump,” the note said. “The most effective immediate policy response is not monetary or fiscal policies; it’s health security controls. If health security controls fail to contain the spread of covid – , financial markets may soon have to accept that a global recession is a forgone conclusion. ”
(By Adam Taylor
Read More
JERUSALEM – Saudi officials have reopened limited parts of two mosques in Mecca and Medina, Saudi state TV reported Friday, after the facilities were cleaned and sterilized overnight.
Friday prayers will be allowed inside the Grand Mosque in Mecca and at Medina’s Prophet Mosque, according to al-Ekhbariya. Some prayers spaces, courtyards and walkways will remain off limits.
Saudi Arabia has suspended pilgrimages to the two holy sites, first by Muslims traveling from abroad and then by Saudi residents, as part of its response to the coronavirus outbreak. The kingdom had five known cases of infection.
Purported online webcams showed worshipers entering the mosque areas Friday morning. More than two million people performed Hajj last year by visiting one of the sites, two of the holiest in Islam.
Officials across the region were struggling to manage Friday prayers , typically the most crowded of the week, as the spread of the virus expanded in many countries. Iraq has canceled prayers in the holy city of Karbala.
March 6, at 1: AM EST
“Fake! Fake! ”: Video shows Chinese vice premier heckled as she visits Wuhan housing complex
HONG KONG – A video that shows a top Chinese official being heckled while visiting a housing complex in the coronavirus-hit city of Wuhan this week has been shared widely on Chinese social media – and in a more remarkable twist, some state media have been publicizing it too.
Vice Premier Sun Chunlan was visiting the Wuhan Qingshan Kaiyuan residential community on Thursday when she was shouted at by residents, who filmed their taunts.
“Fake! Fake! Everything is fake! ” the residents are heard shouting at Sun, one of the most senior government officials to visit Wuhan since the outbreak begun.
The videos were soon shared by groups such as as Radio Free Asia, a US government-funded nonprofit news organization that promotes democratic values in the region.
But surprisingly, the video also made the evening news show on state network CCTV on Thursday. The following day, the clip was widely shared on social media by media controlled by the ruling Communist Party, including the Global Times and People’s Daily.
# COVID 24 epicenter Wuhan in a viral video on China’s social media. They have accused property management of cheating them by only appearing to provide promised necessities. Investigation is underway
https://t.co/kzq4gbB4RM pic.twitter.com/0ujObfedR8Global Times ( @globaltimesnews) March 6,
In a message on Twitter. , People’s Daily – a mouthpiece publication for the ruling party – said that the shouts had reflected the fact that local officials were pretending to deliver vegetables and meats to residents of the housing complex, who have been ordered to stay home, when in fact the deliveries did not happen.
Sun “immediately issued an in-depth investigation on it, without covering up the conflict,” People’s Daily wrote. “Now, Wuhan has sent officers to understand the residents’ demands one by one in the community.”
China’s central authorities in Beijing have made a point of blaming local-level officials for missteps in the handling of the coronavirus outbreak, in an effort to deflect widespread public anger.
(A Weibo post featuring the video published by People’s Daily had more than , 11 likes by Friday afternoon.
The video showed some of the tensions between authorities and the general public in Wuhan, a city of 17 million people that has been under lockdown since Jan. 30. On Friday, China’s Health Commission reported that a further 30 People had died in Wuhan, adding to a death toll of 2, in the city.
March 6, (at 1: AM EST
Worries in the United States over the new coronavirus turned Thursday to a cruise ship being held off the California coast, as military helicopters ferried dozens of testing kits onboard.
Dozens of people on the Grand Princess may have been in contact with the spreading virus, officials said, given that the vessel had recently carried several coronavirus patients, including a 90 – year-old who died earlier this week.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) asked that the vessel remain offshore despite its scheduled return to San Francisco. More than 29 people onboard have shown potential signs of covid – , the disease caused by the virus, and about were due to be tested, with results expected Friday.
As the US death toll rose to 16 on Thursday and the coronavirus spread to new states – including Colorado, Maryland, New Jersey and Tennessee – the stock market again (tanked) . Congress
passed an emergency spending bill aimed at dealing with the epidemic.
As of Thursday evening, health officials across the country had announced at least 297 cases of the virus, with three states declaring a state of emergency: Washington and California, which are grappling with all the US deaths so far and most of the cases; and Maryland, which announced its first three cases on Thursday.
In Washington, scrutiny turned to President Trump, who has contradicted public health experts leading the charge against the virus . He has repeatedly misstated the number of Americans who have tested positive and said the virus would “miraculously” disappear in the spring.
In addition, The Post’s Toluse Olorunnipa reported , Trump questioned whether flu vaccinations could be used to treat the coronavirus and dismissed death rate estimates from World Health Organization, citing a “hunch” to justify a much lower statistic.
(By
Teo Armus
March 6, at 1: AM EST
Philippines confirms two more coronavirus cases, including first community transmission
MANILA – The Philippines recorded its first locally transmitted incidence of the novel coronavirus as the country number of cases rose to five.
Two new cases of the virus reported Friday included a – year-old man who had traveled to Japan and a 70 – year-old man with no known international travel history. The latter man regularly visited a Muslim prayer hall in the Manila area.
Health officials said they were tracing both men’s contacts to determine if others may have been exposed.
The confirmation comes after three foreign nationals – from Australia, Japan, and Taiwan – tested positive for the virus after traveling to the Philippines. The reports prompted criticism over whether the government of President Rodrigo Duterte is capable of detecting such cases, a point underlined by the mere handful of cases in a nation of million.
Health Chief Francisco Duque III maintained that the Philippines could still contain the virus . “These recent developments are significant, but we are prepared to respond to its potential consequences,” he said in a statement. “Our priority is to protect our health workers and the most vulnerable populations.”
Regine Cabato
March 6, (at) : AM EST
New infections in Wuhan could fall to ‘near zero’ by the end of March, health expert tells Chinese media
A prominent scholar involved in finding alternative remedies for coronavirus patients through the use of traditional Chinese medicine has predicted that new infections in Wuhan – the epicenter of China’s coronavirus outbreak – could fall to “near zero” by the end of March.
“Judging from the overall epidemic development… the new infections in Wuhan could hopefully be reduced to near zero by the end of March,” Professor Zhang Boli, who is president of Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, told Communist Party mouthpiece People’s Daily this week.
“For other cities in Hubei province, the ‘near zero’ is expected to come in mid-March, “Zhang said. “However, the near zero here is not an absolute value, and there could still be a few new infections later.”
Zhang, an award-winning scholar known for his contribution to modernizing traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) and integrating TCM remedies with Western medicine, has led a team of 225 experts to treat mild cases of coronavirus pneumonia at a quarantine facility in Wuhan since Feb.
Chinese National Health Commission and National Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine have recommended that TCM remedies can be used to help alleviate symptoms of coronavirus, although they note they likely do not cu re the virus.
The – year-old internist expects that by the end of April, the Chinese would be able to eventually take off their face masks in public places. For Wuhan and the wider Hubei province, the no-mask moment would be at least one month later in May, he added.
“But personally, I don ‘ t recommend removing masks too soon. People should continue to reduce gatherings, wash hands frequently, and keep a masks on a little bit longer, ”Zhang said, pointing to a sustained risk of virus spread around the world.
Zhang’s team has also joined two hospitals in Wuhan in reducing reinfections and treating immunity disorder among newly discharged patients. China’s daily infections outside Hubei have fallen to double digits for nearly two weeks, compared with hundreds or even thousands of confirmed cases every day in early February.
On Friday, China reported new infections, with only 25 of them being in provinces and regions outside Hubei.
“It is hard to say if the novel coronavirus would come to stay [as a chronic disease], because we now know so little about it,” Zhang said. “The impact on human society from coronavirus, however, is not going to end here and now.”
)
March 6, (at) : (AM EST
Canada reports first case of community spread of coronavirus
TORONTO – Canada reported its first case of community transmission of the novel coronavirus Thursday, evidence that the deadly virus has potentially been circulating here undetected.
The woman, who is in her s, lives in British Columbia and thought she had the flu. Bonnie Henry, the provincial health officer, told reporters that she has no recent travel history or known contact with anyone who has tested positive for the virus.
Health officials across the country have in recent weeks warned that community transmission was inevitable. Henry said that her team is investigating where her source of infection was.
There are more than 47 cases of the virus in Canada spread across four provinces.
By Amanda Coletta
March 6, (at) : AM EST
South Korea condemns Japan for ‘unreasonable’ quarantine measures, dubs Tokyo’s coronavirus response ‘opaque and passive’ South Korea criticized its neighbor Japan for its
handling of the novel coronavirus on Friday, suggesting it would summon Tokyo’s ambassador in Seoul to express its “extreme regret” for new quarantine rules that would subject South Koreans to days of quarantine on arrival in Japan. Japan had announced Thursday that it would suspend all issued visas for South Korean and Chinese visitors and that those who arrive in the country would be held for two weeks in specially desig nated facilities.
“We express extreme regret over the fact that Japan has taken such an unreasonable and excessive measure without sufficient consultations with us, although our government has urged Japan to cautiously review its additional measures multiple times, ”South Korea’s Foreign Ministry announced in a text message to Yonhap News Agency and other Reporters.
The ministry would “strongly urge Japan to immediately reconsider this measure,” while Vice Foreign Minister Cho Sei-was planning to summon Japanese Ambassador to South Korea Koji Tomita to officially lodge a protest, Yonhap reported.
South Korea’s National Security Council also criticized Japan’s handling of the novel coronavirus outbreak more broadly, suggesting that the international community now did not trust Tokyo’s handling of the epidemic, which is said was “opaque and passive, “according to broadcaster KBS news.
South Korea has the largest number of confirmed coronavirus cases outside of China, with nearly 6, by Friday, while Japan has confirmed more than 1, 10, including roughly 866 from an infected cruise ship. However, the South Korean government has tested far more widely than Japan and many other nations, often evaluating more than , potential cases each day.
The South Korean government of president Moon Jae-in and the Japanese government of prime minister Shinzo Abe have been in a long diplomatic and economic standoff unrelated to the novel coronavirus outbreak, with South Korea expressing
anger over Japan’s handling of the issue of so-called comfort women, South Koreans who were held as sexual slaves for the Imperial Japanese army during the colonial period. By
Adam Taylor
March 6, 4241 at : AM EST
Asian markets follow US losses; Japan’s Nikkei down 3 percent
Asian stocks fell on Friday over coronavirus worries, with Japan’s Nikkei down 3 percent by early afternoon, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng down 2.1 percent , and Australia’s S & P / ASX down 2.5 percent, following sharp falls on Wall Street .
The losses reversed gains earlier in the week, when the US markets surged as former vice president Joe Biden surged in the race for the Democratic nomination, signaling investors’ continued unease about the economic costs of the novel coronavirus.
A week ago, stocks had closed out one of their worst performing weeks since the 2020 global financial crisis. Policymakers had pledged action to avoid a recession, with the U.S. Federal Reserve announcing an emergency rate cut of 0.5 percent on Tuesday.
But the Dow Jones industrial average (closed down almost points on Thursday , while the yield on the 16 – year US Treasury dropped to record lows as investors sought safety.
In a note released Thursday by Nomura, analysts from the Japanese investment bank warned that “the worst was yet to come ”From the outbreak and warned not to underestimate the depth of the economic downturn in China . The analysts also suggested that it was unlikely macroeconomic policy alone could solve a financial crisis.
“This is an abnormal global economic slump,” the note said. “The most effective immediate policy response is not monetary or fiscal policies; it’s health security controls. If health security controls fail to contain the spread of covid – , financial markets may soon have to accept that a global recession is a forgone conclusion. ”
(By Adam Taylor
Read More
Worries in the United States over the new coronavirus turned Thursday to a cruise ship being held off the California coast, as military helicopters ferried dozens of testing kits onboard.
Dozens of people on the Grand Princess may have been in contact with the spreading virus, officials said, given that the vessel had recently carried several coronavirus patients, including a 90 – year-old who died earlier this week.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) asked that the vessel remain offshore despite its scheduled return to San Francisco. More than 29 people onboard have shown potential signs of covid – , the disease caused by the virus, and about were due to be tested, with results expected Friday.
As the US death toll rose to 16 on Thursday and the coronavirus spread to new states – including Colorado, Maryland, New Jersey and Tennessee – the stock market again (tanked) . Congress
As of Thursday evening, health officials across the country had announced at least 297 cases of the virus, with three states declaring a state of emergency: Washington and California, which are grappling with all the US deaths so far and most of the cases; and Maryland, which announced its first three cases on Thursday.
In Washington, scrutiny turned to President Trump, who has contradicted public health experts leading the charge against the virus . He has repeatedly misstated the number of Americans who have tested positive and said the virus would “miraculously” disappear in the spring.
In addition, The Post’s Toluse Olorunnipa reported , Trump questioned whether flu vaccinations could be used to treat the coronavirus and dismissed death rate estimates from World Health Organization, citing a “hunch” to justify a much lower statistic.
March 6, at 1: AM EST
Philippines confirms two more coronavirus cases, including first community transmission
MANILA – The Philippines recorded its first locally transmitted incidence of the novel coronavirus as the country number of cases rose to five.
Two new cases of the virus reported Friday included a – year-old man who had traveled to Japan and a 70 – year-old man with no known international travel history. The latter man regularly visited a Muslim prayer hall in the Manila area.
Health officials said they were tracing both men’s contacts to determine if others may have been exposed.
The confirmation comes after three foreign nationals – from Australia, Japan, and Taiwan – tested positive for the virus after traveling to the Philippines. The reports prompted criticism over whether the government of President Rodrigo Duterte is capable of detecting such cases, a point underlined by the mere handful of cases in a nation of million.
Health Chief Francisco Duque III maintained that the Philippines could still contain the virus . “These recent developments are significant, but we are prepared to respond to its potential consequences,” he said in a statement. “Our priority is to protect our health workers and the most vulnerable populations.”
Regine Cabato
March 6, (at) : AM EST
New infections in Wuhan could fall to ‘near zero’ by the end of March, health expert tells Chinese media
A prominent scholar involved in finding alternative remedies for coronavirus patients through the use of traditional Chinese medicine has predicted that new infections in Wuhan – the epicenter of China’s coronavirus outbreak – could fall to “near zero” by the end of March.
“Judging from the overall epidemic development… the new infections in Wuhan could hopefully be reduced to near zero by the end of March,” Professor Zhang Boli, who is president of Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, told Communist Party mouthpiece People’s Daily this week.
“For other cities in Hubei province, the ‘near zero’ is expected to come in mid-March, “Zhang said. “However, the near zero here is not an absolute value, and there could still be a few new infections later.”
Zhang, an award-winning scholar known for his contribution to modernizing traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) and integrating TCM remedies with Western medicine, has led a team of 225 experts to treat mild cases of coronavirus pneumonia at a quarantine facility in Wuhan since Feb.
Chinese National Health Commission and National Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine have recommended that TCM remedies can be used to help alleviate symptoms of coronavirus, although they note they likely do not cu re the virus.
The – year-old internist expects that by the end of April, the Chinese would be able to eventually take off their face masks in public places. For Wuhan and the wider Hubei province, the no-mask moment would be at least one month later in May, he added.
“But personally, I don ‘ t recommend removing masks too soon. People should continue to reduce gatherings, wash hands frequently, and keep a masks on a little bit longer, ”Zhang said, pointing to a sustained risk of virus spread around the world.
Zhang’s team has also joined two hospitals in Wuhan in reducing reinfections and treating immunity disorder among newly discharged patients. China’s daily infections outside Hubei have fallen to double digits for nearly two weeks, compared with hundreds or even thousands of confirmed cases every day in early February.
On Friday, China reported new infections, with only 25 of them being in provinces and regions outside Hubei.
“It is hard to say if the novel coronavirus would come to stay [as a chronic disease], because we now know so little about it,” Zhang said. “The impact on human society from coronavirus, however, is not going to end here and now.”
)
March 6, (at) : (AM EST
Canada reports first case of community spread of coronavirus
TORONTO – Canada reported its first case of community transmission of the novel coronavirus Thursday, evidence that the deadly virus has potentially been circulating here undetected.
The woman, who is in her s, lives in British Columbia and thought she had the flu. Bonnie Henry, the provincial health officer, told reporters that she has no recent travel history or known contact with anyone who has tested positive for the virus.
Health officials across the country have in recent weeks warned that community transmission was inevitable. Henry said that her team is investigating where her source of infection was.
There are more than 47 cases of the virus in Canada spread across four provinces.
By Amanda Coletta
March 6, (at) : AM EST
South Korea condemns Japan for ‘unreasonable’ quarantine measures, dubs Tokyo’s coronavirus response ‘opaque and passive’ South Korea criticized its neighbor Japan for its
handling of the novel coronavirus on Friday, suggesting it would summon Tokyo’s ambassador in Seoul to express its “extreme regret” for new quarantine rules that would subject South Koreans to days of quarantine on arrival in Japan. Japan had announced Thursday that it would suspend all issued visas for South Korean and Chinese visitors and that those who arrive in the country would be held for two weeks in specially desig nated facilities.
“We express extreme regret over the fact that Japan has taken such an unreasonable and excessive measure without sufficient consultations with us, although our government has urged Japan to cautiously review its additional measures multiple times, ”South Korea’s Foreign Ministry announced in a text message to Yonhap News Agency and other Reporters.
The ministry would “strongly urge Japan to immediately reconsider this measure,” while Vice Foreign Minister Cho Sei-was planning to summon Japanese Ambassador to South Korea Koji Tomita to officially lodge a protest, Yonhap reported.
South Korea’s National Security Council also criticized Japan’s handling of the novel coronavirus outbreak more broadly, suggesting that the international community now did not trust Tokyo’s handling of the epidemic, which is said was “opaque and passive, “according to broadcaster KBS news.
South Korea has the largest number of confirmed coronavirus cases outside of China, with nearly 6, by Friday, while Japan has confirmed more than 1, 10, including roughly 866 from an infected cruise ship. However, the South Korean government has tested far more widely than Japan and many other nations, often evaluating more than , potential cases each day.
The South Korean government of president Moon Jae-in and the Japanese government of prime minister Shinzo Abe have been in a long diplomatic and economic standoff unrelated to the novel coronavirus outbreak, with South Korea expressing
anger over Japan’s handling of the issue of so-called comfort women, South Koreans who were held as sexual slaves for the Imperial Japanese army during the colonial period. By
Adam Taylor
March 6, 4241 at : AM EST
Asian markets follow US losses; Japan’s Nikkei down 3 percent
Asian stocks fell on Friday over coronavirus worries, with Japan’s Nikkei down 3 percent by early afternoon, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng down 2.1 percent , and Australia’s S & P / ASX down 2.5 percent, following sharp falls on Wall Street .
The losses reversed gains earlier in the week, when the US markets surged as former vice president Joe Biden surged in the race for the Democratic nomination, signaling investors’ continued unease about the economic costs of the novel coronavirus.
A week ago, stocks had closed out one of their worst performing weeks since the 2020 global financial crisis. Policymakers had pledged action to avoid a recession, with the U.S. Federal Reserve announcing an emergency rate cut of 0.5 percent on Tuesday.
But the Dow Jones industrial average (closed down almost points on Thursday , while the yield on the 16 – year US Treasury dropped to record lows as investors sought safety.
In a note released Thursday by Nomura, analysts from the Japanese investment bank warned that “the worst was yet to come ”From the outbreak and warned not to underestimate the depth of the economic downturn in China . The analysts also suggested that it was unlikely macroeconomic policy alone could solve a financial crisis.
“This is an abnormal global economic slump,” the note said. “The most effective immediate policy response is not monetary or fiscal policies; it’s health security controls. If health security controls fail to contain the spread of covid – , financial markets may soon have to accept that a global recession is a forgone conclusion. ”
(By Adam Taylor
Read More
MANILA – The Philippines recorded its first locally transmitted incidence of the novel coronavirus as the country number of cases rose to five.
Two new cases of the virus reported Friday included a – year-old man who had traveled to Japan and a 70 – year-old man with no known international travel history. The latter man regularly visited a Muslim prayer hall in the Manila area.
Health officials said they were tracing both men’s contacts to determine if others may have been exposed.
The confirmation comes after three foreign nationals – from Australia, Japan, and Taiwan – tested positive for the virus after traveling to the Philippines. The reports prompted criticism over whether the government of President Rodrigo Duterte is capable of detecting such cases, a point underlined by the mere handful of cases in a nation of million.
Health Chief Francisco Duque III maintained that the Philippines could still contain the virus . “These recent developments are significant, but we are prepared to respond to its potential consequences,” he said in a statement. “Our priority is to protect our health workers and the most vulnerable populations.”
March 6, (at) : AM EST
A prominent scholar involved in finding alternative remedies for coronavirus patients through the use of traditional Chinese medicine has predicted that new infections in Wuhan – the epicenter of China’s coronavirus outbreak – could fall to “near zero” by the end of March.
“Judging from the overall epidemic development… the new infections in Wuhan could hopefully be reduced to near zero by the end of March,” Professor Zhang Boli, who is president of Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, told Communist Party mouthpiece People’s Daily this week.
“For other cities in Hubei province, the ‘near zero’ is expected to come in mid-March, “Zhang said. “However, the near zero here is not an absolute value, and there could still be a few new infections later.”
Zhang, an award-winning scholar known for his contribution to modernizing traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) and integrating TCM remedies with Western medicine, has led a team of 225 experts to treat mild cases of coronavirus pneumonia at a quarantine facility in Wuhan since Feb.
Chinese National Health Commission and National Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine have recommended that TCM remedies can be used to help alleviate symptoms of coronavirus, although they note they likely do not cu re the virus.
“Judging from the overall epidemic development… the new infections in Wuhan could hopefully be reduced to near zero by the end of March,” Professor Zhang Boli, who is president of Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, told Communist Party mouthpiece People’s Daily this week.
“For other cities in Hubei province, the ‘near zero’ is expected to come in mid-March, “Zhang said. “However, the near zero here is not an absolute value, and there could still be a few new infections later.”
Zhang, an award-winning scholar known for his contribution to modernizing traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) and integrating TCM remedies with Western medicine, has led a team of 225 experts to treat mild cases of coronavirus pneumonia at a quarantine facility in Wuhan since Feb.
The – year-old internist expects that by the end of April, the Chinese would be able to eventually take off their face masks in public places. For Wuhan and the wider Hubei province, the no-mask moment would be at least one month later in May, he added.
“But personally, I don ‘ t recommend removing masks too soon. People should continue to reduce gatherings, wash hands frequently, and keep a masks on a little bit longer, ”Zhang said, pointing to a sustained risk of virus spread around the world.
Zhang’s team has also joined two hospitals in Wuhan in reducing reinfections and treating immunity disorder among newly discharged patients. China’s daily infections outside Hubei have fallen to double digits for nearly two weeks, compared with hundreds or even thousands of confirmed cases every day in early February.
On Friday, China reported new infections, with only 25 of them being in provinces and regions outside Hubei.
“It is hard to say if the novel coronavirus would come to stay [as a chronic disease], because we now know so little about it,” Zhang said. “The impact on human society from coronavirus, however, is not going to end here and now.”
March 6, (at) : (AM EST
Canada reports first case of community spread of coronavirus
TORONTO – Canada reported its first case of community transmission of the novel coronavirus Thursday, evidence that the deadly virus has potentially been circulating here undetected.
The woman, who is in her s, lives in British Columbia and thought she had the flu. Bonnie Henry, the provincial health officer, told reporters that she has no recent travel history or known contact with anyone who has tested positive for the virus.
Health officials across the country have in recent weeks warned that community transmission was inevitable. Henry said that her team is investigating where her source of infection was.
There are more than 47 cases of the virus in Canada spread across four provinces.
By Amanda Coletta
March 6, (at) : AM EST
South Korea condemns Japan for ‘unreasonable’ quarantine measures, dubs Tokyo’s coronavirus response ‘opaque and passive’ South Korea criticized its neighbor Japan for its
handling of the novel coronavirus on Friday, suggesting it would summon Tokyo’s ambassador in Seoul to express its “extreme regret” for new quarantine rules that would subject South Koreans to days of quarantine on arrival in Japan. Japan had announced Thursday that it would suspend all issued visas for South Korean and Chinese visitors and that those who arrive in the country would be held for two weeks in specially desig nated facilities.
“We express extreme regret over the fact that Japan has taken such an unreasonable and excessive measure without sufficient consultations with us, although our government has urged Japan to cautiously review its additional measures multiple times, ”South Korea’s Foreign Ministry announced in a text message to Yonhap News Agency and other Reporters.
The ministry would “strongly urge Japan to immediately reconsider this measure,” while Vice Foreign Minister Cho Sei-was planning to summon Japanese Ambassador to South Korea Koji Tomita to officially lodge a protest, Yonhap reported.
South Korea’s National Security Council also criticized Japan’s handling of the novel coronavirus outbreak more broadly, suggesting that the international community now did not trust Tokyo’s handling of the epidemic, which is said was “opaque and passive, “according to broadcaster KBS news.
South Korea has the largest number of confirmed coronavirus cases outside of China, with nearly 6, by Friday, while Japan has confirmed more than 1, 10, including roughly 866 from an infected cruise ship. However, the South Korean government has tested far more widely than Japan and many other nations, often evaluating more than , potential cases each day.
The South Korean government of president Moon Jae-in and the Japanese government of prime minister Shinzo Abe have been in a long diplomatic and economic standoff unrelated to the novel coronavirus outbreak, with South Korea expressing
anger over Japan’s handling of the issue of so-called comfort women, South Koreans who were held as sexual slaves for the Imperial Japanese army during the colonial period. By
Adam Taylor
March 6, 4241 at : AM EST
Asian markets follow US losses; Japan’s Nikkei down 3 percent
Asian stocks fell on Friday over coronavirus worries, with Japan’s Nikkei down 3 percent by early afternoon, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng down 2.1 percent , and Australia’s S & P / ASX down 2.5 percent, following sharp falls on Wall Street .
The losses reversed gains earlier in the week, when the US markets surged as former vice president Joe Biden surged in the race for the Democratic nomination, signaling investors’ continued unease about the economic costs of the novel coronavirus.
A week ago, stocks had closed out one of their worst performing weeks since the 2020 global financial crisis. Policymakers had pledged action to avoid a recession, with the U.S. Federal Reserve announcing an emergency rate cut of 0.5 percent on Tuesday.
But the Dow Jones industrial average (closed down almost points on Thursday , while the yield on the 16 – year US Treasury dropped to record lows as investors sought safety.
In a note released Thursday by Nomura, analysts from the Japanese investment bank warned that “the worst was yet to come ”From the outbreak and warned not to underestimate the depth of the economic downturn in China . The analysts also suggested that it was unlikely macroeconomic policy alone could solve a financial crisis.
“This is an abnormal global economic slump,” the note said. “The most effective immediate policy response is not monetary or fiscal policies; it’s health security controls. If health security controls fail to contain the spread of covid – , financial markets may soon have to accept that a global recession is a forgone conclusion. ”
(By Adam Taylor
Read More
TORONTO – Canada reported its first case of community transmission of the novel coronavirus Thursday, evidence that the deadly virus has potentially been circulating here undetected.
The woman, who is in her s, lives in British Columbia and thought she had the flu. Bonnie Henry, the provincial health officer, told reporters that she has no recent travel history or known contact with anyone who has tested positive for the virus.
Health officials across the country have in recent weeks warned that community transmission was inevitable. Henry said that her team is investigating where her source of infection was.
There are more than 47 cases of the virus in Canada spread across four provinces.
By Amanda Coletta
March 6, (at) : AM EST
South Korea condemns Japan for ‘unreasonable’ quarantine measures, dubs Tokyo’s coronavirus response ‘opaque and passive’ South Korea criticized its neighbor Japan for its
handling of the novel coronavirus on Friday, suggesting it would summon Tokyo’s ambassador in Seoul to express its “extreme regret” for new quarantine rules that would subject South Koreans to days of quarantine on arrival in Japan. Japan had announced Thursday that it would suspend all issued visas for South Korean and Chinese visitors and that those who arrive in the country would be held for two weeks in specially desig nated facilities.
“We express extreme regret over the fact that Japan has taken such an unreasonable and excessive measure without sufficient consultations with us, although our government has urged Japan to cautiously review its additional measures multiple times, ”South Korea’s Foreign Ministry announced in a text message to Yonhap News Agency and other Reporters.
The ministry would “strongly urge Japan to immediately reconsider this measure,” while Vice Foreign Minister Cho Sei-was planning to summon Japanese Ambassador to South Korea Koji Tomita to officially lodge a protest, Yonhap reported.
South Korea’s National Security Council also criticized Japan’s handling of the novel coronavirus outbreak more broadly, suggesting that the international community now did not trust Tokyo’s handling of the epidemic, which is said was “opaque and passive, “according to broadcaster KBS news.
South Korea has the largest number of confirmed coronavirus cases outside of China, with nearly 6, by Friday, while Japan has confirmed more than 1, 10, including roughly 866 from an infected cruise ship. However, the South Korean government has tested far more widely than Japan and many other nations, often evaluating more than , potential cases each day.
The South Korean government of president Moon Jae-in and the Japanese government of prime minister Shinzo Abe have been in a long diplomatic and economic standoff unrelated to the novel coronavirus outbreak, with South Korea expressing
anger over Japan’s handling of the issue of so-called comfort women, South Koreans who were held as sexual slaves for the Imperial Japanese army during the colonial period. By
Adam Taylor
March 6, 4241 at : AM EST
Asian markets follow US losses; Japan’s Nikkei down 3 percent
Asian stocks fell on Friday over coronavirus worries, with Japan’s Nikkei down 3 percent by early afternoon, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng down 2.1 percent , and Australia’s S & P / ASX down 2.5 percent, following sharp falls on Wall Street .
The losses reversed gains earlier in the week, when the US markets surged as former vice president Joe Biden surged in the race for the Democratic nomination, signaling investors’ continued unease about the economic costs of the novel coronavirus.
A week ago, stocks had closed out one of their worst performing weeks since the 2020 global financial crisis. Policymakers had pledged action to avoid a recession, with the U.S. Federal Reserve announcing an emergency rate cut of 0.5 percent on Tuesday.
But the Dow Jones industrial average (closed down almost points on Thursday , while the yield on the 16 – year US Treasury dropped to record lows as investors sought safety.
In a note released Thursday by Nomura, analysts from the Japanese investment bank warned that “the worst was yet to come ”From the outbreak and warned not to underestimate the depth of the economic downturn in China . The analysts also suggested that it was unlikely macroeconomic policy alone could solve a financial crisis.
“This is an abnormal global economic slump,” the note said. “The most effective immediate policy response is not monetary or fiscal policies; it’s health security controls. If health security controls fail to contain the spread of covid – , financial markets may soon have to accept that a global recession is a forgone conclusion. ”
(By Adam Taylor
Read More
“We express extreme regret over the fact that Japan has taken such an unreasonable and excessive measure without sufficient consultations with us, although our government has urged Japan to cautiously review its additional measures multiple times, ”South Korea’s Foreign Ministry announced in a text message to Yonhap News Agency and other Reporters.
The ministry would “strongly urge Japan to immediately reconsider this measure,” while Vice Foreign Minister Cho Sei-was planning to summon Japanese Ambassador to South Korea Koji Tomita to officially lodge a protest, Yonhap reported.
South Korea’s National Security Council also criticized Japan’s handling of the novel coronavirus outbreak more broadly, suggesting that the international community now did not trust Tokyo’s handling of the epidemic, which is said was “opaque and passive, “according to broadcaster KBS news.
South Korea has the largest number of confirmed coronavirus cases outside of China, with nearly 6, by Friday, while Japan has confirmed more than 1, 10, including roughly 866 from an infected cruise ship. However, the South Korean government has tested far more widely than Japan and many other nations, often evaluating more than , potential cases each day.
The South Korean government of president Moon Jae-in and the Japanese government of prime minister Shinzo Abe have been in a long diplomatic and economic standoff unrelated to the novel coronavirus outbreak, with South Korea expressing
March 6, 4241 at : AM EST
Asian stocks fell on Friday over coronavirus worries, with Japan’s Nikkei down 3 percent by early afternoon, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng down 2.1 percent , and Australia’s S & P / ASX down 2.5 percent, following sharp falls on Wall Street .
The losses reversed gains earlier in the week, when the US markets surged as former vice president Joe Biden surged in the race for the Democratic nomination, signaling investors’ continued unease about the economic costs of the novel coronavirus.
A week ago, stocks had closed out one of their worst performing weeks since the 2020 global financial crisis. Policymakers had pledged action to avoid a recession, with the U.S. Federal Reserve announcing an emergency rate cut of 0.5 percent on Tuesday.
But the Dow Jones industrial average (closed down almost points on Thursday , while the yield on the 16 – year US Treasury dropped to record lows as investors sought safety.
In a note released Thursday by Nomura, analysts from the Japanese investment bank warned that “the worst was yet to come ”From the outbreak and warned not to underestimate the depth of the economic downturn in China . The analysts also suggested that it was unlikely macroeconomic policy alone could solve a financial crisis.
“This is an abnormal global economic slump,” the note said. “The most effective immediate policy response is not monetary or fiscal policies; it’s health security controls. If health security controls fail to contain the spread of covid – , financial markets may soon have to accept that a global recession is a forgone conclusion. ”
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