At least 101 coronavirus cases linked to South Korea nightclub cluster
A total of 101 coronavirus cases have been linked to a nightclub cluster in South Korea, Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon said today. The cluster emerged in the capital’s Itaewon entertainment district over the past few days, raising fears of a second wave of infections. So...
Iran’s mosques temporarily reopen
All mosques in Iran are due to reopen temporarily on Tuesday, as part of the government’s plan to ease coronavirus restrictions. They will be open for three days to commemorate specific nights during the holy month of Ramadan, and have been asked to comply with...
Coronavirus: Wuhan draws up plans to test all 11 million residents
The Chinese city of Wuhan is drawing up plans to test its entire population of 11 million people for Covid-19, state media report. The plan appears to be in its early stages, with all districts in Wuhan told to submit details as to how testing...
73 Percent of U.S. Adults Say China Bears Responsibility for American Coronavirus Deaths
Nearly three-fourths of U.S. adults say China bears responsibility for American coronavirus deaths, a Morning Consult tracker poll released Friday revealed. Morning Consult’s latest tracker survey, polling 2,200 U.S. adults across the country, found that the majority, 73 percent, at least partially hold China responsible...
Wuhan reports first new case in more than a month
The city of Wuhan, the original epicenter of the coronavirus crisis, on Sunday reported its first new coronavirus case since April 3, according to local health officials. The patient is currently in a critical condition, and his wife has also tested positive and was reported...
Chinese health official admits to public health system weaknesses
The coronavirus epidemic has revealed weaknesses in China’s public health system, a Chinese health official said on Saturday, in a rare public admission of deficiency from within the authoritarian government. “It’s a big test of our country’s capacity and system of governance. While we are...
Coronavirus: Chinese official admits health system weaknesses
The coronavirus pandemic is a “big test” that has exposed weaknesses in China’s public health system, a senior official has told Chinese media. The rare admission, from Director of China’s National Health Commission Li Bin, comes after sustained criticism abroad of China’s early response. The...
Coronavirus: Six killed in clashes at Afghanistan food aid protest
At least six people were killed when protesters angry at the distribution of food aid clashed with security forces in western Afghanistan, officials say. The violence began after demonstrators gathered in Firozkoh, the capital of Ghor province, to complain about the perceived failure to help...
Australian PM Scott Morrison unveils 3-point plan to reopen the country
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison today outlined a three-point plan to reopen the economy and society — and hopes to have it completed by July. Morrison held up a board detailing the plan, saying that states and territories would be allowed to adhere to it...
India coronavirus: Why celebrating Covid-19 ‘success models’ is dangerous
As India continues to fight the spread of coronavirus, a few ‘successful’ efforts at containing the infection have been touted as ‘models’, celebrated and mimicked across the country. But experts say such premature euphoria can be dangerous. The BBC’s Vikas Pandey reports. The northern Indian...
Indian migrant deaths: 16 sleeping workers run over by train
Indian officials have ordered an investigation after 16 people were run over by a freight train in the state of Maharashtra. The dead were migrant workers who had fallen asleep on the tracks, while attempting to walk to a station, from where they had been...
Japan approves experimental drug for treating coronavirus patients
Japan has approved the use of the experimental anti-viral drug remdesivir, for the treatment of coronavirus patients with severe symptoms. Researchers in the US released some good news last week about a possible treatment for coronavirus — evidence that the experimental drug may help patients...
All of China is now at “low-risk” for coronavirus outbreak, government says
More than five months after the coronavirus pandemic broke out in China, all mainland counties are now at a “low-risk” of the outbreak, the government said today. National Health Commission spokesperson Mi Feng said China is still faced with a high level of uncertainty. We...
Former CDC director reveals ’10 plain truths’ about the pandemic
Dr. Tom Frieden, the former director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, laid out “10 plain truths” about Covid-19 on Wednesday as he spoke at a House Appropriations Committee hearing on the pandemic response. “In my 30 years in global public health,...
South Korea says North Koreans stockpiled supplies over economic fallout from pandemic
South Korean lawmakers claim the coronavirus pandemic has caused residents of North Korea’s Pyongyang to stockpile daily necessities. Citing intelligence, South Korean lawmaker Kim Byung-kee said the border blockade with China “is adding difficulties to North Koreans’ lives and economic activities, and prices of imported...
China calls US attacks a Republican political strategy
China says recent accusations by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and President Donald Trump that the Covid-19 pandemic originated in a lab in Wuhan are a political strategy for Republicans ahead of the 2020 presidential election. Speaking at a regular press briefing on Wednesday,...
Nearly 58,000 students are going back to school at coronavirus ground zero
Thousands of students are going back to school today in Wuhan — the original epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic. The central Chinese city was placed under strict lockdown in January to arrest the spread of the virus, with nobody allowed in or out, and movement...
Hong Kong will start relaxing social distancing measures from Friday
Hong Kong will begin to relax some social distancing measures from Friday, as the city has recorded fewer cases of novel coronavirus, Chief Executive Carrie Lam announced during a news conference on Tuesday. Starting on May 8, the city will increase the number of people...
Migrant workers stuck in lockdown have clashed with police in 2 Indian states
Migrant workers clashed with local police in two Indian states on Monday as frustration grows under lockdown restrictions. In the city of Surat in Gujarat state, around 4,000 migrant workers — mostly from the states of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar — had gathered and were...
Coronavirus stokes Middle East boiling points
The Middle East has many reasons to fear the coronavirus pandemic, but it has one big advantage when it comes to resisting it. Most people in the region are young. A rough average is that at least 60% are under the age of 30. That...
Coronavirus: Chinese state media take aim at US ‘lab theory’
Chinese state media has accused US secretary of state Mike Pompeo of lying – after he said there was “enormous evidence” the coronavirus emanated from a laboratory in Wuhan. Mr Pompeo made the claim on Sunday, without going into specifics. In an editorial on Tuesday,...
After criticism, Indian government to cover most train fare for stranded workers
In a U-turn, the Indian government announced that it will cover the train fare cost incurred for the transportation of stranded migrant workers, students and tourists to return home. “Both the Government of India or the Railway Ministry have not discussed charging any of the...
South Korean students to begin returning to school from May 13
South Korea will gradually begin to re-open schools from May 13, the country’s education minister Yoo Eun-hae said on Monday. Year Three students in high schools will be the first to return to classes, allowing them to make career and college decisions, she said. Other...
Wuhan schools to re-open Wednesday for some students
Final-year high school students in the Chinese city of Wuhan, where the coronavirus outbreak was first detected last December, will return to school this Wednesday. On May 6, all the senior students will return to schools, which marks a new beginning for the education plan...
Japan to extend its state of emergency until May 31
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said in a task force meeting today that the country will extend its state of emergency until May 31. Abe said he will review the infection status around May 14 to see if the order can be lifted beforehand. The...
Most of Vietnam’s 22 million students returned to school today, state media says
Most of Vietnam’s 22 million students returned to class today after a three-month closure to tackle Covid-19, the state-run Vietnam News Agency reported. Eighteen of the country’s 63 provinces and centrally-run cities will open all schools starting today, while 30 others are reopening primary schools...
Japan extends state of emergency
Japan has extended its state of emergency until the end of May after a government meeting late on Monday. The country has so far avoided a widespread outbreak of the virus, but still has around 15,000 confirmed cases and just under 500 deaths that have...
Coronavirus: Wuhan evacuee ‘should never have left China’
A man who returned to the UK to avoid coronavirus has said he “should never have left China” as things return to normal in Wuhan. Matt Raw, 38, from Knutsford, Cheshire said he went “out of the pot, into the fire” when he was released...
India coronavirus lockdown: Sonia Gandhi offers to pay migrant fares
India has asked migrants seeking to return to their home states to pay their own train fare, in a move that has caused outrage in the country. Millions of daily-wage earners were stranded with no means of income after India went into lockdown on 24...
Kim Jong-un appears in public, North Korean state media report
Kim Jong-un has appeared in public for the first time in 20 days, North Korean state media says. KCNA news agency reports that the North Korean leader cut the ribbon at the opening of a fertiliser factory. It adds that people at the factory “broke...
