Saturday 28 March 2020

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Volume 25 | Number 8210

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SPORT | 04BUSINESS | 01

IMF chief:

‘Clear we

have entered

recession’

Djokovic

pledges €1m

to help fight

against virus

Single day record 969 deaths in Italy; US House approves $2.2 trillion aid packageAGENCIES — ROME/WASHINGTON/LONDON

Italy yesterday recorded the most daily deaths of any country since the start of the coronavirus pandemic and Spain had its dead-liest day, as British Prime Minister Boris Johnson became the first major world leader to test positive.

Italy reported 969 new deaths and Spain 769, as Europe reeled from a crisis that has put millions at risk around the world and threatened a global economic meltdown. Spain has the world's second-highest coronavirus death toll after Italy, and has so far suffered 4,858 deaths, while the number of cases jumped to 64,059.

The US House of Representa-tives yesterday approved a $2.2 trillion aid package — the largest in American history —to help people and businesses cope with the eco-nomic downturn inflicted by the coronavirus pandsemic.

Hundreds of House members traveled back to Washington to overcome the demand from one Republican to hold a recorded vote. The House passed the n package by voice vote, after the Senate’s 96-0 vote on Wednesday to approve the measure. “Our nation faces an eco-nomic and health emergency of his-toric proportions,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said before the vote. “We do know that we must do more.”

Trump will sign the measure “as soon as possible,” said White House congressional liaison Eric Ueland.

Tallies showed a total of 300,000 cases now recorded in Europe with more than 25,000 deaths worldwide, and the United States overtook China as the country with the most infections

The latest figures, that brings the total number of fatalities to 9,134, the highest in the world, provided by the Italian Civil Protection

Department show that the total number of cases in the country also continues to grow, even though a bit slower than Thursday.A total of 66,414 coronavirus cases have been confirmed in the country and 10,950 patients have recovered. The epi-center the Italian outbreak remains the northern Lombardy region, which accounts alone for 5,402 victims.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has tested positive for the coronavirus and is self-isolating at his Downing Street residence but said he would still lead the govern-ment’s response to the accelerating outbreak. Johnson, 55, experienced mild symptoms on Thursday, a day after he answered questions at a weekly question-and-answer session in parliament’s House of Commons chamber. He received the positive test result at around midnight. “I’ve taken a test. That has come out positive,” Johnson said on Friday in a video

statement broadcast on Twitter. “I’ve developed mild symptoms of the coronavirus. That’s to say - a temper-ature and a persistent cough.”

“Be in no doubt that I can con-tinue, thanks to the wizardry of modern technology, to communicate with all my top team to lead the national fightback against corona-virus,” he said. Health minister Matt Hancock, another senior member of the British government’s response, said he had also tested positive and was self-isolating at home with mild symptoms. The government’s top medical adviser also said he had symptoms.

The World Health Organiszation’s emergencies chief said widespread testing for coronavirus is crucial and countries should not be faulted for turning up higher numbers. Dr. Michael Ryan appealed for a shift towards measures that allow us “to live with this virus” until a vaccine emerges.

S&P affirms Qatar ratings with stable outlookQNA — DOHA

S&P Global Ratings affirmed its long- and short-term foreign and local currency sovereign credit ratings on Qatar at ‘AA-/A-1+’. The outlook on the long-term rating is stable.

“In view of the sharp fall in international oil prices, we have significantly lowered our oil price assumptions for 2020 and 2021. Nevertheless, Qatar’s gov-ernment and external balance sheets currently remain strong and provide a buffer to withstand external shocks,” S&P said in a report.

It added that while the prices of hydrocarbons may remain low, the government’s fiscal and external positions will remain stable. S&P Global Ratings mate-rially lowered its oil price assumptions for 2020 on March 19, 2020. This follows an earlier significant downward revision of its price assumptions on March 9, 2020.

“Prices for crude oil in spot and futures markets are more than 55 percent lower than levels observed during the summer of 2019 when prices increased on the back of rising geopolitical tensions. When we last reviewed Qatar, we expected Brent oil prices to average $60 per barrel

(/bbl) in 2020 and to gradually decline to $55/bbl in 2021 and beyond,” the report explained.

“We now assume an average Brent oil price of $30/bbl in 2020 and $50/bbl in 2021, and $55/bbl from 2022.”

Oil prices plummeted fol-lowing OPEC’s failure to agree on further production cuts during meetings on March 6. OPEC+ did not agree to a pro-posed reduction of 1.5 million barrels per day (mmbbl/d) to address an expected significant drop in global demand partly due to the spread of the coronavirus. S&P Global Ratings expected that Qatar’s credit profile to be stable. �P2

MoPH announces 13 new cases of COVID-19THE PENINSULA — DOHA

Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) has announced the registration of 13 new confirmed cases of COVID-19, in Qatar yesterday.

Some new cases are related to those how have travelled outside and returned to the country, while others have had con-tacts with the infected. The new cases have been put into quarantine and are receiving the necessary medical care.

A total of 14,845 people have been tested for COVID-19 and by yesterday 562 people were receiving treatment for the disease. Until now some 43 people have recovered from COVID-19, in Qatar.

The MoPH has again stressed the impor-tance of following basic preventive measures including washing hands fre-quently and properly or use hand sanitizers regularly.

People are also being strongly advised not to touch their nose, mouth and eyes

outside the home, to avoid visiting the elderly and not leaving the house except for when absolutely necessary. People should also avoid shaking hands or kissing, and keep a distance of not less than one meter (3 feet) from other people, especially people who have symptoms.

The Ministry recommends that people visit its website or the Government Com-munications Office website to find out the latest developments, reliable information and data on COVID-19.

QNA — DOHA

President of Qatar Olympic Committee (QOC), H E Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad Al Thani, expressed yesterday the soli-darity of the Qatar Olympic Committee with the Interna-tional Olympic Committee (IOC) and the organisers of the upcoming Olympic Games Tokyo 2020.

H E Sheikh Joaan stressed during a meeting held via video conferencing technology with the President of the Inter-national Olympic Committee (IOC) H E Dr. Thomas Bach, Presidents of national Olympic committees and Presidents of continental Olympic com-mittees, the support of the Amir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, to the decision to postpone the Tokyo

2020 Olympic Games.His Excellency said: “ H H

the Amir, the Qatar Olympic Committee (QOC) and all members of the Qatari com-munity affirm solidarity with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the organisers of the Tokyo Games 2020, and we have no doubt about organising an excep-tional edition of the tour-nament next year.”

His Excellency added: “This unprecedented pandemic has rocked the whole world, but the International Olympic Movement under the lead-ership of Dr. Thomas Bach has shown great cohesion in the face of this crisis.”

H E Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad Al Thani said: “Today we face common challenges

and work together to ensure the protection of players, the masses and all members of the Olympic family ... the Tokyo 2020 Games are a source of

hope for all of us, we look forward to a time when the world goes beyond this crisis and emerges from it more powerful”.

MME to refundsecurity money ofwinter camps onlineSANAULLAH ATAULLAH THE PENINSULA

The Department of Protection and Wild Life at the Ministry of Municipality and Environment has announced to refund the security money of winter camps online. The winter camping season this year ended before time following the preventive and precautionary measures announced by the Supreme Committee for Crises Management to curb the spread of COVID-19.

The campers have been asked to follow few simple steps given by the Ministry through official website www.mme.gov.qa to get their money back. “The beneficiaries are required to click the icon of ‘request for winter camp’ then select ‘booking camp space’, after entering ID number and mobile number, the system will ask to click refund icon,” the Ministry has tweeted.

The inspectors of the Department of Pro-tection and Wild Life will visit the space of camping allotted to campers to ensure that they did not commit any violation of environment and other rules and regulations given by the Ministry. �P2

QOC expresses solidarity with IOC, Tokyo 2020 organisers

“In view of the sharp fall in international oil prices, we have significantly lowered our oil price assumptions for 2020 and 2021. Nevertheless, Qatar’s government and external balance sheets currently remain strong and provide a buffer to withstand external shocks,” S&P said in a report .

10 people arrested for violating home quarantineQNA — DOHA

The Ministry of Public Health yesterday announced that the competent authorities arrested 10 people who violated the requirements of home quar-antine.

The pledge they committed themselves had forewarned this. The Ministry said the arrest of these persons is part of the measures in force in the country and approved by the health authorities.

This is to ensure public safety, in order to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

The Ministry said that the 10 persons proceeded to

prosecution. The persons, who are Qatari citizens, are: Abdulrahman Majid Nasser Mohammad Al Kaabi, Abdul-Wahab Mubarak Saeed Al Ibrahim Al-Mohannadi, Jassim Mohammed Khaled Al-Nofaihi Al-Kubaisi, Faisal Ali Nasser Abdullah Al-Hamidi, Abdullah Abdul-rahman Faisal Abdullah al-Athbah, Khaled Khalaf Saad Muhammad Al-Kubaisi, Amer Bader Saeed Al-Ali Al-Abdullah, Mahdi Mesfer Mueidh Mohammad Al-Ahbabi, Khaled Abdul-Mawla Othman Muhammad Al-Thobhani and Abdullah Mohammed Fares Saad

Al-Subaie. The authorities reminded

citizens and residents in home quarantine of the necessity of strict adherence to the condi-tions set by the Ministry of Health for their own safety and others.

The Ministry statement stressed whoever violates the conditions will expose himself to the penalties in line with the provisions of Article 253 of the Penal Code No. (11) of 2004, and the pro-visions of Law No. (17) of 1990 regarding prevention of infectious diseases, and Law No. (17) of 2002 on Pro-tection of Community.

Practicing social distancing to curb the spread of COVID-19, customers standing in a queue at the cashier counter of Safari Mall Hypermarket, yesterday. PIC: SALIM MATRAMKOT/THE PENINSULA

Social distancing

02 SATURDAY 28 MARCH 2020HOME

KAWS launches new sculpture to be enjoyed anywhere amid pandemicRAYNALD C RIVERA THE PENINSULA

Even with COVID-19, art lovers in Doha and around the world can enjoy the work by cele-brated American contemporary artist Brian Donnelly, more famously known as KAWS, with his newly released edition of “Companion (Expanded).”

This augmented reality (AR) sculpture is an additional artwork to KAWS’ “Expanded Holiday” project launched two weeks ago which consisted of a free exhibition of 12 monu-mental AR sculptures in major cities around the world including Doha, as well as limited and open editions of AR works, all visible via the Acute Art app.

“Companion (Expanded)” can be enjoyed and placed at home or anywhere using the Acute Art app. The 45cm time-limited AR work is available free of charge thru April 15 by

downloading the app.“Given the current situation

with COVID-19 we do not encourage the gathering of people but instead propose that you enjoy this small version of Companion (Expanded) for free in the comfort of your own space,” said KAWS.

With over 100,000 down-loads in the first 24 hours after it was launched, KAWS’ latest project was met with over-whelming response from art lovers around the world.

“I am completely over-whelmed and thankful for the way my project has been embraced and love seeing all the photos being uploaded so please keep them coming. THANK YOU!! Stay Safe!’ added KAWS.

For his latest project, KAWS has teamed up with Acute Art which uniquely provides leading artists access to cutting-edge technologies allowing these artists to

translate their creative vision into digital mediums, including virtual, augmented, and mixed realities.

“ Acute Art was founded on the vision of democratising art and bringing it to places where it could not be before. It’s always been our ambition to reach audiences outside of the art world’s traditional institu-tions. In these difficult times, our aspiration has gained new relevance and urgency. The new work by KAWS is offered to anyone, anywhere for free until April 15. We hope you take good care of yourselves,” said Jacob De Geer, CEO, Acute Art.

KAWS has emerged as a truly international artist through his appeal to diverse audiences across the globe. His signature imagery is easily rec-ognizable, and through his strategies of appropriation, he has developed an oeuvre that transcends genres and defies all hierarchies.. His prolific

body of work straddles the worlds of art and design and include paintings, murals, sculptures of all sizes, graphic and product design, advertising intervention, and now aug-mented reality.

Known in Doha for his colossal “Small Lie” sculpture unveiled at the Hamad Inter-national Airport two years ago, KAWS recently marked his first Middle East museum exhibition at the Fire Station.

An artwork of celebrated American contemporary artist Brian Donnelly.

MME, QRCS inspect food outlets to ensure safety in view of COVID-19 THE PENINSULA — DOHA

The Ministry of Municipality and Environment (MME) in collab-oration with Qatar Red Crescent Society (QRCS) recently launched campaigns on general cleanliness and health moni-toring on food outlets and key areas throughout the munici-palities.

The campaigns are part of the State efforts in taking pre-ventive and precautionary measures to curb the spread of COVID-19.

The inspection campaigns target commercial complexes and food outlets operating within the municipalities of Al Rayyan, Doha and Al Wakrah , such as Villaggio Mall and Hyatt Plaza, a number of food outlets in Al Sadd and along Old Airport Street.

Under the campaigns, training programmes will be conducted to train volunteers on cleaning and how to handle

disinfectants.“Surprise inspections visits

were made in different places of Al Rayyan Municipality cov-ering Hyatt Plaza and Villagio Mall,” said Majid Burhan Al Zaidan, Head of Health Moni-toring Section at Al Rayan Municipality.

He said that the volunteers joined team of inspectors during inspection on food outlets.

“Large quantity of food items were checked to ensure compliance with health rules at Al Meera outlet operating in Hyatt Plaza,” said Al Zaidan.

He said that the volunteers were introduced to the mech-anism of inspection and its technicalities and how to follow the health rules for food han-dlers, proper storage and refrig-eration of chilled and frozen food items.

“All food items showcased at Carrefour in Villaggio including the sections of fruits, vegetables, frozen and children

items were inspected. The inspectors also ensured the dis-infection of trolleys and checked the expiry dates and proper display,” said Al Zaidan.

He said that the volunteers with inspection team also visited eateries and cafeteria to educate them the inspection process of such outlets.

“As per the future inspection plan, the inspection campaigns will be conducted in key areas of Al Rayyan Municipality like Muaither and Furosia Street with the participation of volun-teers to create health awareness at food outlets and eateries,” said Al Zaidan.

Ali Al Hadad, an inspector of Doha Municipality, said that the inspection campaign was conducted yesterday at a number of food outlets including groceries, restaurants and cafeteria in Al Sad within the initiative of the Ministry to support volunteering work.

He said that the campaign

aimed at ensuring the com-pliance of food handlers to health rules like proper dressing, wearing mask and glove.

Salman Saleh Al Marri, a member of the Committee for Supporting Volunteering Work

at the Ministry said that the yes-terday’s inspection campaign covered all food outlets including restaurants, bakeries and groceries along Old Airport Street.

The inspection campaign was conducted on second day

on food outlets along Al Shafi Street and Muaither Street at Al Rayan Municipality. The cam-paign will continue during coming days to cover all public places and key areas throughout the municipalities, said the Ministry.

Officials examining various food items at a food outlet in Doha as part of an initiative launched by the Ministry of Municipality and Environment and Qatar Red Crescent Society to ensure safety in view of the threat posed by COVID-19.

QF’S Doha Debates explores COVID-19 impact on worldTHE PENINSULA — DOHA

Issues surrounding the impact of the global coronavirus pandemic on our world, the consequences of decisions being made now, and how it could change the world have been discussed in the latest edition of Doha Debates’ Course Correction podcast series.

Course Correction has been developed by the Qatar Foundation production to unpick key global issues through the eyes of experts and thought-leaders who aim to make a difference. In a special coronavirus-focused episode, host Nelufar Hedayat gauged the views of Parag Khanna, a leading global strategy adviser who specialises in interna-tional relations, and Dr. Jason Hickel, Economic Anthropologist at the Uni-versity of London.

“I am based in London, and there is an incredible amount of frustration here,” said Dr. Hickel, speaking about his experiences of the impact of COVID-19 on the UK and the world.

“It is becoming increasingly apparent that the new Western liberal model of governance is being shown to be farcical, in comparison to what

East Asian countries are able to accomplish in terms of governance in the public interest, public health,

and protecting lives. “I think this is, in some way, the

final nail in the coffin of the

legitimacy of the new liberal system in the West. The question is whether we will be able to learn from these mistakes or not.” Speaking about how East Asians countries such as Japan, South Korea, and Singapore have tackled the virus in comparison to other countries, Khanna said: “We still do not know what the impact will be in these countries."

“The fact that the virus spreads

so fast is an important reminder of how connected we are, but you can’t be so sure that everything will simply be fine in these countries next week.

“All our economies are relatively open. If Singapore wants to go back to business, that means letting people in, so I believe we are nowhere near the stage where we can say that Asia has got it right.”

Hedayat also spoke about the effects of coronavirus from a social aspect, and her personal experience saying: “I have a neighbour who suffers from several health issues, and I worry for her every day that she might get the virus and it might affect her. She does not have anyone to look after her.

“I think this virus is changing us on a personal and behavioural level, and it is changing us as communities”. Doha Debates launched Course Cor-rection as part of a revamped concept, which includes a live event debate series, digital videos, blogs, and a portal facilitating live video conversations on key global topics with people around the world.

To view the podcast, visit www.dohadebates.com/listen

Course Correction has been developed by the Qatar Foundation production to unpick key global issues through the eyes of experts and thought-leaders who aim to make a difference.

MME to refund

security money

of winter

camps onlineFROM PAGE 1

After inspection, the security money will be deposited to the account of a camper who is not found involved in any violation.

To curb the gathering at services centre under the pre-ventive measures of corona-virus, the Ministry switched many services to its Oun App which offers 93 services online. The electronic services of received overwhelming response from the users.

Over 39,000 transactions were made online through the electronic platform of the Min-istry from March 16 to 23, 2020.

As much as 37,600 trans-actions were related to the municipal services, followed by 365 transaction seeking services of agriculture and fishery sector. The envi-ronment sector and building permits’ complex shared 364 and 313 transactions respec-tively. General services sector offered 193 services online. The services of the committee for engineers’ registration and engineering consultancy office accounted 193. Urban planning sector and joint service sector rendered 104 and seven services online. The hotline number 184 of MME received 4,360 calls from March 18 to 25, 2020. The highest number of calls was related to the munic-ipalities’ affairs sector. Other sectors received 2 to 4 percent of total calls made during the study period.

S&P affirms Qatar ratings with stable outlookFROM PAGE 1

The ratings are supported by the very strong external and fiscal positions, which are underpinned by relatively low central-gov-ernment debt and the large external assets Qatar has built up over several years.

“In view of oil price assump-tions, we forecast that the general government balance will record a deficit of 2 percent of GDP in

2020 compared with a 6.6 percent surplus in the previous year and revert to about 4.5 percent surplus by 2023.”

“Mirroring developments on the fiscal side, Qatar’s external accounts will run a deficit through 2021, before reverting to about 4.2 percent surplus in the remainder of the forecast period.” S&P Global Ratings expected that project liquid

external assets will exceed external debt by 93 percent of current account payments (CAPs) over the forecast horizon, which compares with 136 percent in its last publication.

“Despite increased external financing needs, we still regard Qatar’s overall external position to be a key strength, underpinned by our estimate of its large liquid financial assets, equivalent to

more than 100 percent of GDP. This provides the government with an exceptional buffer during financial shocks,” the report pointed out. “We believe that the authorities are likely to provide extraordinary liquidity support to the banking system, in case of sudden reversals in foreign flows. The government’s timely inter-vention during the ongoing boycott that started in 2017, to

curb the pressure emanating from external funds outflows.” S&P explained that Qatari gov-ernment is bringing in structural reforms to diversify its economy and reduce dependence on hydrocarbons. The reforms could gradually increase Qatar’s long-term growth potential. It expected the continuation of political and social stability in the country despite blockade.

LEFT: Dr. Jason Hickel said coronavirus has shown the inadequacies of the Western model of governance. CENTRE: Parag Khanna told the podcast that the spread of COVID-19 has reflected the connectivity of the world. RIGHT: Doha Debates correspondent Nelufar Hedayat hosted the podcast and spoke about the social impact of COVID-19.

FAJR SUNRISE 04.13 am 05.30 am

W A L R U WA I S : 23o↗ 29o W A L K H O R : 22o↗ 27o W D U K H A N : 21o↗ 33o W WA K R A H : 25o↗ 27o W M E S A I E E D 25o↗ 27o W A B U S A M R A 20o↗ 36o

PRAYER TIMINGS WEATHER TODAY

HIGH TIDE 06:01– 19:31 LOW TIDE 01:36 – 13:51

Partly cloudy to cloudy with chance of scattered rain may be thundery at some places at times.

Minimum Maximum23oC 28oC

ZUHRMAGHRIB

11.39 am05.50 pm

ASR ISHA

03.07 pm07.20 pm

03SATURDAY 28 MARCH 2020 HOME / MIDDLE EAST

QPO urges people to stay home amid COVID-19

THE PENINSULA — DOHA

They’ve played at the United Nations, the Royal Albert Hall in London, and the Kennedy Center in Washington, but this might be one of the most important shows the musicians of Qatar Philharmonic Orchestra (QPO) have ever performed – from their own homes.

The orchestra, a Qatar Foundation member, is using the power of music to send a message to people about the need to stay at home and help Qatar tackle the coronavirus crisis, through a video that

shows its members performing the second movement from Antonin Dvorak’s Symphony No.9 (From The New World), which was adapted into a song called Goin’ Home, in their living rooms.

With social distancing measures now in force due to COVID-19, the musicians are continuing to rehearse in their homes. And the video – posted on the orchestra’s social media channels with the hashtag #StayHome – aims to encourage people to follow health guidance and support Qatar in coming through coronavirus.

“We wanted to show people that, despite the current situ-ation, the orchestra is still working, still rehearsing, and still preparing for the time when we can all come together again,” said Kurt Meister, Exec-utive Director of Qatar Philhar-monic Orchestra.

“We have hundreds of videos that our musicians have fi lmed of themselves rehearsing, and it was decided to create a film that sends a message to people about how, while we may be separated at the moment, we are still together.

“The New World Sym-phony, as it is known, is a very peaceful, relaxing piece of music that many people know. It’s one of the most famous melodies in music, and we hope people will enjoy it at a time when there is so much bad news and it is possible to feel a

little lost. We have been sur-prised and delighted at the reaction it has already received, with so many positive responses.

“For our musicians, playing is like breathing, and just because we cannot rehearse together at the moment, we don’t stop working. They all want to make sure they are ready for when we can perform again, and I’m very proud of them.”

The video features 94 of the orchestra’s 95 musicians, with the only instrument not fea-tured being the harp, which is not played on Dvorak’s famous symphony. Qatar Philharmonic Orchestra is currently scheduled to perform it at Katara Opera House on June 13, with a performance of Schubert’s Symphony No.4 planned for the same venue on June 6.

The orchestra also plans to soon release more videos of its musicians’ virtual rehearsals. You can view their home per-formance of the New World Symphony on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

Qatar Philharmonic Orchestra performs famous symphony from their homes to encourage people to stay at home amid COVID-19 crisis.

The orchestra, a Qatar Foundation member, is using the power of music to send a message to people about the need to stay at home and help Qatar tackle the coronavirus crisis, through a video that shows its members performing the second movement from Antonin Dvorak’s Symphony No.9 (From The New World), which was adapted into a song called Goin’ Home, in their living rooms.

Hypermarkets in Doha gearing up for Holy Month of Ramadan

Hypermarkets are gearing up for the Holy month of Ramadan by stocking up essentials. A view of a hypermarket in Doha. PIC:QASSIM RAHMATULLAH/THE PENINSULA

Nearing completion The multi-bridge intersection near Landmark Mall on the Doha Expressway is nearing completion as seen in this aerial shot. PIC:QASSIM RAHMATULLAH/THE PENINSULA

Doha Municipality conducts over 2,000 inspection drives on food outletsTHE PENINSULA — DOHA

Doha Municipality has conducted more than 2,000 inspection drives this month on food outlets in various areas of the country.

About 47 food outlets were closed for violating rules, such as preparing food in unhealthy conditions and working without commercial licenses and valid health cer-tificates. During the intensive inspection drives, the inspectors also ensured that all food establishments are following health require-ments and keeping workers out, who have any disease symptoms. The Municipality in cooperation with spe-cialists at the Ministry of Public Health is distributing a w a r e n e s s b r o c h u r e s regarding prevention of coronavirus.

A team of inspectors of Al Khor and Al Dakhira Munic-ipality conducted a drive on restaurants and bakeries and closed two food outlets.

The campaign stressed the importance of all health requirements and the com-mitment of workers to wear gloves and masks. The Munic-ipality also conducts daily inspections at the auction house and stores in fish

market and checks the abattoirs.

Meanwhile, Al Shahaniy Municipality conducted inspection at shops selling local agricultural products to ensure safety and quality of traded products and clean-liness of area. Also, the Municipality of Umm Salal

conducted an inspection and awareness campaign on food outlets to follow up on the commitment to apply the health requirements. One restaurant was shut down in Al Wakrah for selling food unfit for human consumption. Also, 20kg of fish was destroyed.

The inspectors of Doha Municipality during an inspection at a food outlet in Doha.

Zarif urges US to free Iranian prisonersREUTERS — DUBAI

The Tehran government urged the United States yesterday to release Iranians held in US jails on sanctions-related issues due to fears about the coronavirus epidemic.

F o r e i g n M i n i s t e r Mohammad Javad Zarif accused the United States of holding a

number of Iranians in its prisons and said that under the circumstances they should be set free. “US even refuses medical furlough - amid #covid19 - for innocent men jailed in horrific facilities. Release our men,” he said on Twitter. The United States became the country with the most infections globally when

its cases topped 85,000 on Thursday.

Zarif also referred to a report by the Guardian news-paper about Dr Sirous Asgari, a materials science professor, who it said was still being held in a crowded facility after being acquitted in November on US federal charges of stealing trade secrets.

Nine cases of coronavirus detected in GazaANATOLIA — GAZA CITY

With nine cases of coronavirus or COVID-19 detected in Gaza Strip of Palestine so far, experts are warning of an imminent disaster in the besieged territory housing two million population.

Ironically, the new seven cases, detected are all security officials, who were guarding a

quarantine facility in Rafah city on the borders of Egypt, reported the Palestine Health Ministry. Earlier this week, two men, returning from Pakistan had tested positive. They were immediately isolated. A silver lining is that infected persons have not been allowed to enter the Gaza Strip. They were stopped at the Egyptian border

and quarantined in a hospital in Rafah city. Palestinian author-ities have already confirmed 75 cases of the coronavirus in the West Bank. The total cases in Palestine territories combining the West Bank and Gaza stands at 84. The health system in the territory is already stressed with just 60 intensive care beds for the two million residents.

Al Meera to ban entry of children aged below 12THE PENINSULA — DOHA

Al Meera Consumer Goods Company to ban the entry of children below the age of 12 to its branches from tomorrow as part of its preventive measures to curb the spread of COVID-19.

"For your safety and that of the community, shop without your kids," complementing the

preventive measures taken to limit the spread of the corona-virus, Al Meera tweeted yesterday.

"As these children may catch the virus, carry it without showing signs of disease, and possibly is high to pass it on to the elderly. This is the reason why we urged the customers to not take children when they

shop," said Al Meera in a statement. “This will also help us reduce the number of shoppers in our branches and allow us to respect social dis-tancing," added Al Meera.

"For your health and the health of our community, we advise you to wear masks for protection when you shop,” said the company.

04 SATURDAY 28 MARCH 2020GULF / MIDDLE EAST

Iran’s army sets up hospital in capital as virus toll nears 2,400AP — TEHRAN

Iran announced another 144 deaths from the coronavirus yesterday and said thousands more were in critical condition as the military completed work on a 2,000-bed field hospital in an exhibition center in the capital.

Iran has reported nearly 2,400 deaths among more than 32,000 cases. Iranian officials have repeatedly insisted they have the outbreak under control despite concerns it could overwhelm the country’s health facilities.

In Yemen, meanwhile, the US Agency for International Development began scaling back aid efforts in areas con-trolled by the Iran-backed Houthi rebels over their resistance to allowing measures that ensure aid goes to those who most need it. Yemen has yet to record any coronavirus cases, but an outbreak in the war-torn country could be catastrophic.

Iran’s military said the new facility, which includes three units and several isolation wards, was set up in just 48 hours. It will be used for patients who are recovering from the COVID-19 illness caused by the virus.

State TV on Thursday quoted Gen. Ali Jahanshahi as saying the hospital has been handed over to medical staff and will begin receiving

patients next week.Most people infected by the

virus only experience mild symptoms, such as fever and cough, and recover within a few weeks. But the virus can cause severe illness and death, par-ticularly in older patients or those with underlying health problems. It is highly conta-gious and can be spread by oth-erwise healthy people showing no visible symptoms.

Iran is battling the worst outbreak in the region. Health Ministry spokesman Kianoush Jahanpour announced the latest deaths on Friday, bringing the total number of fatalities to 2,378 amid 32,332 confirmed cases.

He said nearly all of the approximately 2,900 newly confirmed cases are in critical condition. More than 11,000 people have been released from hospitals, according to the ministry.

Authorities have urged people to stay home but have not imposed the sweeping lock-downs seen elsewhere in the region.

Iran has been under severe US sanctions since President

Donald Trump withdrew his country from Iran’s 2015 nuclear agreement with world powers. The U.S. has offered humanitarian aid to Iran but authorities have refused.

Earlier this week, Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, refused American aid and seized on a conspiracy theory that the United States created the virus, something for which there is no scientific evidence.

Hundreds of Iranians have meanwhile been sickened or died from drinking methanol in the mistaken belief that it offers protection from the virus. Word of fake remedies has spread across social media in Iran, where many are deeply suspicious of the government after it initially downplayed the crisis.

Israel, meanwhile, has seen a surge in infections in recent days. It has reported 3,035 cases and 10 fatalities, mainly older patients with pre-existing conditions. The Palestinian Authority, which governs parts of the Israeli-occupied West Bank, has reported 84 cases.

Municipal workers carrying out disinfection works at market places and streets as precautions against coronavirus pandemic in Gaza City, yesterday.

Kuwait confirms 17 new cases in 24 hours; Oman reports 22QNA — KUWAIT/MUSCAT

Kuwait confirmed 17 new coro-navirus cases during the past 24 hours, bringing the total to 225, said the country’s Health Ministry.

The Ministry of Health in the Sultanate of Oman announced the registration of 22 new cases of coronavirus for Omani citizens.

The ministry said that 10 cases related to contact with former patients, and eight linked to travel, while four cases are subject to

epidemiological investigation, thus bringing the total number of cases recorded in the Sul-tanate of 131 cases.

Kuwait confirmed that 23 cases have recovered. Kuwait news agency (KUNA) yesterday quoted the Ministry’s spokes-person Dr. Abdullah Al-Sanad as saying said that four cases of Kuwaiti nationals related to travel to US, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, France, and one for a resident related to travel to Jordan. Furthermore, nine cases were in contact with confirmed infected people,

seven nationals and two resi-dents, noting that there are three other cases under investigation.

The Spokesman revealed that out of the 225 cases, 57 of them have recovered and 168 are still receiving treatment.

He indicated that there are 11 cases still in the ICU. Some 891 individuals had finished the quarantine period, he affirmed.

The Ministry of Health urged the citizens and residents to abide by all the decisions and recommendations issued by authorities.

Iraq's toll rises to 40; curfew to continue till April 11ANATOLIA & REUTERS — BAGHDAD

The death toll from coronavirus in Iraq rose to 40, the country’s Health Ministry said yesterday.

In a statement, the ministry said the total number of the coronavirus cases in the country has reached 458. Also, 122 people have so far recovered from the virus, known as COVID-19, the statement added.

Iraq has a porous border with Iran, the worst-hit Middle Eastern country so far. The Iraqi religious calendar is dotted with annual pilgrimages, some of the biggest mass gatherings on earth, which typically attract millions of worshippers.

And since last year, Iraq’s major cities have seen mass anti-government demonstrations that killed hundreds of people. State institutions are paralysed by political deadlock after the gov-ernment resigned and politicians failed to form a new one.

So far, Iraq has counted more than 450 coronavirus cases and 40 deaths, most of them in the past week. But doctors worry that those figures barely scratch the surface of an epidemic that may already be raging undetected across crowded cities.

“There are many

unrecorded cases. People aren’t getting tested or taking it seri-ously,” said Hantoush, public health director for southern province Dhi Qar.

Loudspeakers on mosques in Baghdad blast out gov-ernment guidelines daily urging people to stay at home and get tested if they think they are ill.

A curfew is in place until April 11. Borders are shut and inter-national flights halted.

But getting the message across is difficult in a country with deep distrust of the author-ities. Tribes have sometimes refused to allow women with symptoms to be isolated because they do not want them

to be alone in hospitals, Han-toush said.Thousands of Iraqis participated in the most recent of Iraq’s major pilgrimages, to the shrine of a Shi’ite Imam in Baghdad, where they crowded in defiance of the curfew.

“We’re now asking pilgrims to self-isolate for 14 days,” said Dr Laith Jubr, 30, who works at

a Baghdad ward testing sus-pected coronavirus cases.

The hospital had three deaths from the virus in the last week, he said, and several staff tested positive. Some people showing symptoms refused to be tested because they did not want to spend time in isolation. “If this gets bigger it could be beyond our control. We could have 1,000 cases next week. There’s a lack of ventilators and other equipment - maybe 10 venti-lators at our hospital.”

Jubr said many Iraqis were nonchalant because they thought they had “seen it all” through years of war. “This is dangerous. We’re facing a hidden enemy that requires not just doctors but the whole pop-ulation to combat it.”

Security forces deployed on Friday to Baghdad’s densely populated Sadr City district, home to millions including many pilgrims, to enforce the curfew, a statement said.

The United Nations praised Iraq’s early measures in closing borders last month but has urged respect for the curfew.

One Baghdad doctor said a sharp rise in cases is imminent. “We’re bracing for what happens in the next two weeks. And we can’t cope,” he said.

Jamal Yusuf Ali, a zoo keeper who volunteered to stay with animals, wearing a protective face mask, feeds a lion during a curfew which was imposed to prevent the spread of COVID-19, at the closed Erbil Zoo, in Iraq, yesterday.

Beirut airport to remain closed until April 12REUTERS — BEIRUT

Lebanon will keep Beirut international airport closed for both private and commercial passenger flights until April 12, the transport ministry said, extending a shutdown that began this month due to the coronavirus outbreak.

The airport will remain open only for flights for the military, air ambulance service, cargo, diplomatic del-egations, international organ-isations and oil and gas drilling workers.

Lebanon has recorded 391 cases of the coronavirus and seven deaths. It extended its national lockdown by two weeks to April 12 on Thursday and announced stricter measures, banning people from leaving their homes and shutt ing nearly a l l businesses.

The country has already been hit by a crippling financial crisis, and health officials have warned that the healthcare system is ill-equipped to confront a surge in cases.

Five areas in northern Turkey quarantined

AFP — ISTANBUL

A town and four villages were placed under quarantine in Turkey’s Black Sea province of Rize to fight the novel coro-navirus outbreak, health offi-cials said yesterday.

Turkey has so far recorded 75 coronavirus deaths and 3,629 cases. It has not pro-vided a breakdown of cases by region.

The town of Kendirli and four adjoining villages were in lockdown to stem potential coronavirus cases, the pro-vincial health directorate said in a statement.

Traffic to and from these areas were banned. People with symptoms of coughing or fever will be identified and undergo health checks in their homes.

If their situation is serious, they will be hospitalised, the statement said.

Authorities have taken a raft of measures across the country from shutting schools and universities, suspending football games to banning mass prayers.

Turkey moves hundreds of migrantsfrom border amid pandemic fearsAP — ANKARA

Turkish authorities evacuated hundreds of migrants who had been waiting at the border with Greece hoping to make their way into Europe, amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Thousands of migrants had massed at a border crossing with European Union-member Greece after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced last month that his country would no longer prevent refugees and other migrants wanting to travel to EU countries. Violent clashes erupted between the migrants and Greek border authorities trying to push them back.

Anadolu Agency reported yesterday that migrants waiting at the border crossing in Edirne province were transported in buses to state guest houses where they would be quaran-tined. They would be moved to other regions in Turkey at the end of the quarantine, the agency reported. Anadolu did not say how many people were

transported away from the border area but an estimated 2,000 had been staying in a makeshift camp near the border gate.

Turkey has reported so far reported 75 deaths related to the new coronavirus and 3,629 infections. It was not clear if any of the migrants at the border had contracted the virus. The Edirne governor’s office did not return calls.

Greece hailed the devel-opment as an “important thing for our country and for Europe,” praising Greek authorities’ ability to guard its land and sea borders. Prime Minister Kyr-iakos Mitsotakis, speaking during a teleconference with ministers on the situation at the border, said Greek authorities had “ascertained that the makeshift camp which had been created.... appears to have been dismantled and those who were on the Evros border have been moved away.”

Greek authorities also shared a night-time video of a fire in a wooded area, which

they said was Turkish author-ities burning the tents left behind by the departing migrants. “A chapter might potentially be closing, but this battle, have no doubt, continues,” Mitsotakis told the ministers, according to a statement released by his office. “We managed to secure a very important thing for our country and for Europe. The ability and efficiency of guarding our land and sea borders.”

A Turkish journalist based in Edirne said several buses were seen leaving the border area and that authorities later disinfected an area where the migrants had been camping.

Anadolu said some of the migrants asked to be moved, while others had to be con-vinced.Turkey declared its borders open for migrants to cross into Europe following months of threats by Erdogan that he would allow millions of refugees into Europe unless the EU provided more support for the more than 3.5 million Syrian refugees in Turkey.

COVID-19: Turkey continues evacuating citizens abroadANATOLIA — ANKARA

Another 571 Turkish citizens were placed under a 14-day quar-antine after being brought back from abroad amid the spread of the novel coronavirus.

A ro-ro ship carried 25 truck drivers from Ukraine to Karasu Port in Sakarya province. They were transferred to a dormitory in the province after their first health check.

The evacuees were transferred to rooms one by one following a second health screening to be observed for 14 days.

Separately, 232 people flew to Turkey from Uzbekistan. The group of businessmen, students and their families later traveled to Sakarya’s Hendek district by bus. They were housed in another dormitory after a medical examination.

Sociologists and psychologists from the Family, Labor and Social Services Ministry will provide psychological support to truck drivers during their quarantine period.

Earlier, 1,134 people underwent health screenings and were housed in dormitories as part of coronavirus measures.

Meanwhile, another 168 passengers were transferred to dor-mitories in Bolu province. Citizens coming to Istanbul from Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Bulgaria and Moldova were taken to the city by bus following medical examinations.

In the evening, a group of 30 passengers who came from Greece to Istanbul Airport were brought to Bolu by bus.

As part of the coronavirus measures, 39 citizens from Greece, 10 from Colombia, 23 from Sweden and 138 from France were brought to the city. Meanwhile, another 170 students and 14 truck drivers were brought to the country from the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC).

The citizens, who were brought to Mersin province by ship, were later transferred to a dormitory in Nigde province.

Iran announced another 144 deaths from the coronavirus yesterday. Iran’s military said the new hospital was set up in just 48 hours. It will be used for patients who are recovering from the COVID-19 illness.

05SATURDAY 28 MARCH 2020 AFRICA

Two deaths in South Africa as lockdown beginsAP — JOHANNESBURG

South Africa announced its first deaths from the coronavirus yesterday as the country’s cases rose above 1,000 and a three-week lockdown began, with military patrolling and police screaming at the homeless on quiet streets.

But some people cooly strolled through townships, alcohol in hand, or jostled in line at shops as fellow citizens looked on, worried. “Children are playing in the streets. It looks like it is the holiday season,” said Phiwe Manata, who lives in Gugulethu township outside Cape Town.

“People are just doing as they please,” Soweto resident Mothibedi Mohoje said.

The two deaths occurred in Western Cape province, home of Cape Town. South Africa has the most virus cases in Africa, with the total across the con-tinent nearing 3,500.

Security forces with mega-phones screamed at people shortly after midnight in downtown Johannesburg, the country’s commercial hub. Homeless people scattered, looking for shelter, to the aston-ishment of residents on bal-conies who filmed the patrols with their mobile phones. One baton-wielding officer took chase.

Some motorists were pursued, stopped and searched.

“Go home,” security forces shouted. “You cannot be outside... You are so selfish.” Around 3 a.m., sustained gunfire echoed through the streets.

South Africa’s military helped to enforce measures that include bans on sales of ciga-rettes and alcohol, even dog-walking. President Cyril Ram-aphosa, in full military uniform, on the eve of the lockdown told troops to be a “force of kindness” and reminded police that “our people are terrified right now and we should not do anything to make their situation worse.”

Some feared the abuse of power. In Rwanda, which imposed a lockdown over the weekend, police have denied that two people shot dead on Monday were killed for defying the new measures.

South Africans should go out only for essentials such as gro-ceries or medical care or to provide essential services. Public transport operates only

during rush hour.“We are putting our lives at

risk,” said one commuting worker, Simphiwe Radebe, saying they had little choice. “Please pray for us.” Minibus taxis were sprayed with disin-fectant before passengers boarded, leaving spaces between them, some wiping their hands.Anxiety is especially high among low-income South Africans squeezed into crowded townships with limited water supplies. Fears of an increase in domestic violence and rape have been expressed by civil society groups.

“Social distancing is very impossible here,” said Sipho Moyo, a manicurist who lives in Johannesburg’s Hillbrow neigh-borhood. “I share a room with two other people. The next room has four people, another room has a family. We all share one bathroom and a kitchen. We all try our best to maintain distance and cleanliness but it is difficult, as you can imagine.”

She watched from her window as people in long lines at local shops ran away as police sirens began to wail. “It’s quiet now,” she said.

Like many informal workers, she didn’t know how she will get by. Economic pain is widespread, with South Africa in recession and unemployment at 29%. In Africa’s largest city, Nigeria’s Lagos, traders also worried after nonessential

markets were shut down and the country’s cases rose to 65. “If we do not go out, we cannot eat, our government did not make any provision for us,” Bolaji Tajudeen said.

Elsewhere in Africa, Congo announced a virus case in the eastern province of Ituri, a region that had been affected by the other current global health emergency, an Ebola virus outbreak, That outbreak is waning. The United Nations mission in Somalia said a con-tractor had the virus, bringing cases in that fragile country to three. The health ministry said the person was in the

international compound at the Mogadishu airport where dip-lomats and aid workers are based. South Sudan’s recovery from civil war became more challenging as the government suspended the training of nearly 50,000 unified forces as a pre-caution. The country, its health system shattered by conflict, has not recorded a virus case.

For most people, the new coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough that clear up in two to three weeks. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more

severe illness, including pneu-monia and death.

More lockdowns are expected; Eswatini on Friday barred unnecessary travel for 20 days. Twenty-four of Africa’s 54 countries already have fully closed borders, according to the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“It is literally a matter of life and death,” Botswana President Mokgweetsi Masisi said Friday, urging citizens to stay home. The country is just one of eight in Africa without a confirmed case. “Our actions will determine whether we survive this pandemic or not.”

A soldier stands guard as police patrol in an attempt to enforce a 21-day nationwide lockdown aimed at limiting the spread of COVID-19, in Khayelitsha township near Cape Town, South Africa, yesterday.

Quarantine shakes up politicians across AfricaAFP — ABIDJAN

With Botswana’s head of state and Ivory Coast’s prime minister in self-quarantine and many government ministers infected across the continent, African politicians have suddenly found themselves on the coronavirus front line.

Their plight has triggered little sympathy on social media, where many note that in Africa, disease is typically a problem for the poor, not the wealthy and influential.

“People say this (corona-virus) is the disease of the global elites,” said Ivorian political sci-entist Jean Alabro.

“People who travel or are in contact with such people are the most affected —in the early days, in any case. In Africa, that means politicians.”

“Nobody is spared by this

virus -- it infects heads of state, government ministers and members of parliament... (and) ordinary citizens,” said Ablasse Ouedraogo, a Burkina oppo-sition figure.

Ivory Coast Prime Minister Amadou Gon Coulibaly, who plans to stand in a presidential election in October, announced on Twitter that he had placed himself in voluntary con-finement “after being in contact with a person declared positive.”

A source close to the Ivorian government said a dozen “senior figures” have gone into self-isolation.

In Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast’s northern neighbour, Thursday’s cabinet meeting was held by video-conference to protect President Roch Marc Christian Kabore from infection. The precaution came

after the death of the second deputy speaker of the national assembly, Rose-Marie Com-paore, and the infection of Foreign Minister Alpha Barry and no fewer than six other ministers.

In Nigeria, the political elite “is in a panic mode following the confirmed case” of the cabinet director (to President Muhammadu Buhari) ,” according to a source close to the presidency.

A slew of senior Nigerian politicians, including the vice president and several state gov-ernors, have announced that they are in self-isolation after contact with two people with the virus, including Buhari’s right-hand man, Abba Kyari.

The chairman of the com-mission of the African Union, Moussa Faki Mahamat, is “observing quarantine” after a

member of his staff tested pos-itive, an AU source in the Ethi-opian capital Addis Ababa on Friday.

In Democratic Republic of Congo, the authorities do not comment on reports of public figures among confirmed coro-navirus cases, but several media have stated that Economy Min-ister Acacia Bandubola was infected. His brother and deputy cabinet director Dedie Ban-dubola was among the first to die of the disease.

In Kenya, President Uhuru Kenyatta criticised religious and political leaders for failing to observe self-quarantine and social distancing.

He appeared to be referring to the deputy governor of Kilifi County, Gideon Saburi, who on his trip to Germany did not self-quarantine for 14 days as required by law.

Commuters stand on yellow marks that indicate the social distancing to curb the COVID-19 outbreak from spreading on a ferry at the Likoni ferry terminal, Mombasa, Kenya, yesterday.

Zimbabwe billionaire offers health workers support in pandemic fightREUTERS — HARARE

A Zimbabwean billionaire has offered health workers new support, including life insurance and cash, after nurses and some doctors walked out over a lack of protective clothing for treating people with corona-virus.

Zimbabwe, whose public hospitals are crippled by shortages of medicines and equipment, has recorded one death from coronavirus and five cases, although the opposition and government critics say authorities are under-reporting figures.

The government denies this allegation and President Emmerson Mnangagwa has encouraged Zimbabweans to limit their movements to curb the spread of coronavirus in the country.

Ecosure, the insurance arm of Cassava Smartech Zimbabwe Ltd and part of Strive Masi-wiya’s Econet group, said it would offer health and life insurance worth $3,200 to each nurse and doctor, a daily cash allowance if they were hospi-talised while on duty, as well as free transport to work for a year.

The insurer said in a statement yesterday it was

“equipping frontline medical staff with protective personal equipment” as the country deals with the coronavirus outbreak.

Government doctors ended a three-month strike in January after Masiyiwa offered them financial support.

Nurses at Zimbabwe’s state hospitals and some doctors walked out on Wednesday, saying the government had failed to respond to their demands for protective equipment.

Zimbabwean police dis-persed street vendors in central Harare yesterday in a bid to decongest the city.

Uganda police shoottwo for violatingban on movementAFP — KAMPALA

Ugandan police said yesterday that two men were in hospital after being shot for violating restrictions on transport in a bid to curb the spread of coro-navirus.

Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni has urged people to stay home but has stopped short of ordering a lockdown.

Schools, places of enter-tainment and worship and some agricultural markets have been shut for a month and people have been banned from using public transport, and being more than three to a car, or one on a private motorbike.

“Police officers on duty to enforce a presidential directive stopped two men on a motorbike in Mukono (near Kampala) on Thursday,” Uganda metropolitan police spokesman, Patrick Onyango said.

“They attacked one of the officers, he fired the warning shot in the air but they charged at him and he shot one of them in the leg and another in the stomach.”

Onyango said the men, who were in hospital, had said they were not aware of the directive banning public transport and private motor-bikes carrying more than one person.

Uganda has recorded 18 confirmed cases of coronavirus, many of them — as in Rwanda — travellers who had come from Dubai.

On Thursday police and soldiers in the capital beat fruit

vendors, marketgoers and people in bars with batons in a bid to disperse people gath-ering in groups.

Trade and Industry Min-ister Amelia Kyambadde said in a statement that security forces should “refrain from beating people. Please explain to them through the com-munity radio towers in the local language.”

Ugandan legislator, Mohammed Nsereko, repre-senting Kampala central in the parliament, said that “we support government’s efforts to stop the spread of corona-virus but banning public transport without giving time for people to prepare for the shut down was wrong.”

“Now that people can’t move due to lack of public transport and are staying home we are having cases of house-holds running out of food and unable to pay rent or medical services,” said Nsereko.

Bans on movement, or complete lockdowns, are hitting the poor hard in Africa, where many live hand to mouth on the money they can make any given day.

In East Africa Rwanda and Mauritius are the only two nations to implement a total lockdown, while Kenya and South Sudan have a nighttime curfew.

Case numbers spiked in Mauritius on Thursday from 48 to 82, with two deaths so far.

South Sudan and Burundi are the only two countries in the region yet to confirm cases of the virus.

Fighting escalates in LibyaREUTERS — BENGHAZI

Battles raged on several fronts in Libya yesterday after a night of heavy bombardment in Tripoli, combatants and resi-dents said, despite the threat continued fighting poses to efforts to stop the coronavirus pandemic.

Serious warfare resumed this week after a comparative lull in recent weeks, defying international calls for calm to allow Libya’s fragmented and overstretched health system to prepare for any spread of the coronavirus.

Libya confirmed its first case of the highly infectious respiratory disease on Monday - a Libyan man recently returned from overseas. After

years of instability and violence, much of the North African country’s medical infra-structure is in ruins, hospitals and clinics have been targeted, and many doctors and nurses have not been paid since December.

The Libyan National Army (LNA) of eastern-based com-mander Khalifa Haftar has been assaulting Tripoli for nearly a year, hoping to capture the capital in the northwest where the internationally recognised Government of National Accord (GNA) is based.

The United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Russia have been supporting the LNA mili-tarily, while Turkey and allied Syrian fighters are backing the GNA.

Diplomacy has foundered, with the latest round of talks in Geneva making no progress towards a political solution last month, and the UN envoy resigning for health reasons.

Before he quit, he warned that the arms embargo on Libya was being routinely violated, with foreign weaponry and fighters arriving in the country to join both sides.

On Thursday, the European Union said it would launch a new naval and air mission to stop further breaches of the embargo.

Huge explosions rattled Tripoli from midnight onwards, with artillery fire echoing around the city last morning, according to residents.

Algeria extends curfew to nine more provinces REUTERS — ALGIERS

Algeria will impose a night curfew in nine more provinces to limit the spread of the coro-navirus, the prime minister’s office said. Earlier this week the government imposed a night curfew in the capital and a full lockdown in the neigh-bouring province of Blida.

The country has so far reported 367 cases of the illness, with 25 deaths. Most cases have been in Blida, south of Algiers. The curfew extension, to be enforced from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. will include central, eastern and western provinces where coronavirus cases have been rising.

The deaths occurred in Western Cape province, home of Cape Town. South Africa has the most virus cases in Africa, with the total across the continent nearing 3,500.

06 SATURDAY 28 MARCH 2020HOME

07SATURDAY 28 MARCH 2020 ASIA

COVID-19: India rolls out call centres to stop stampede to hospitalsREUTERS — MUMBAI

Health authorities set up coro-navirus call centres in urban centres across India yesterday, scrambling to stop people flooding hospitals demanding immediate tests to see if they have come down with corona-virus.

Doctors and medical stu-dents were recruited to run virtual diagnostic facilities and prescribe preventive care in over 30 languages to ensure hospitals are seeing just the most severe cases rather than eve-ryone worrying about possible infection. As of yesterday, Indian authorities had confirmed 691 positive cases among 26,798 people tested, according to the Indian Council of Medical Research.

But testing rates in India, the world’s second most populous country with 1.3 billion people, have been abysmally low com-pared with Western nations, with experts fearing many

thousands of coronavirus infec-tions are lurking undetected.

This week Prime Minister Narendra Modi told all people to self-isolate indoors for three weeks in the most massive lockdown of public life any-where in the world.

But frequent cases of public naming-and-shaming of people who have tested positive, or of those hiding recent travel to virus hotspots, have alarmed many Indians suffering from common colds or mild flu and prompted them to besiege a

small number of hospitals des-ignated to provide diagnoses for the virus. “State-run hospitals are struggling to curb an influx of people seeking immediate diagnosis, and a majority of (these people) test negative,” said a senior federal health official in New Delhi.

He said the pressure on hos-pitals caused by public panic over coronavirus must be eased to help doctors overwhelmed with other medical emergencies. Health authorities have regis-tered 17 deaths from the highly infectious respiratory disease.

India has just one doctor for every 1,457 citizens, according to a 2019 parliamentary report.

The financial capital Mumbai was the first city to set up a coro-navirus call centre this week, allowing people go through a set of questions to determine how long they have experienced symptoms, their age and where they have travelled recently. Those callers who remain fearful of infection can opt to speak to

a doctor via video chat before heading to hospital emergency rooms treating the disease. In the eastern city of Kolkata, the state-run Infectious Diseases Hospital was struggling with a growing volume of people seeking tests.

“There is tremendous pressure being put on people by neighbours forcing many of them to get a certificate proving they are not infected,” said Anima Halder, a doctor at the

state-run hospital. “People can contract infections if they come unnecessarily to a hospital and stand in a queue only to clear up the doubts of their neighbours,” she said.

Phone interviews with doctors at eight state-run hos-pitals across India highlighted their concerns about dwindling supplies. “We need everything - safety gear, test kits, ventilators and virtual medical support,” said Naren Diwan, a doctor

working at Mumbai’s state-run hospital. Three health ministry officials said that more than 4,000 mobile testing centres were now being prepared in large trucks to operate as make-shift diagnostic centres.

These trucks will serve mainly industrial and special economic zones where thou-sands of seasonal, migrant labourers are expected to rejoin the workforce after the lockdown ends.

India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi attends a videoconference with G20 leaders to discuss COVID-19, in New Delhi.

Nepal rescues more than 100 stranded touristsANATOLIA — KATHMANDU

Nepal has rescued more than 100 tourists stranded in various mountain regions across the country amid lockdown imposed by the country’s authorities to stem the spread of the corona-virus, an official said yesterday.

As many as 46 tourists were airlifted from Jomsom, a mountain region near Nepal’s border with China, said Smita KC,

an officer at Nepal Tourism Board. Fourteen tourists, including six French nationals, have been rescued from Lukla, the gateway to Everest, the world’s highest peak, she said.

The officer, however, added 150 foreign tourists were still awaiting rescue in Lukla, which lies at an altitude of 2,800 meters (9,186 feet).

“We also rescued 38 French tourists from Pokhara [a resort

town, west of Kathmandu],” she told Anadolu Agency.

She said French and German embassies were coordinating with the authorities to rescue their citizens, who are likely to return to their countries on special chartered flights, as Nepal has halted international flights due to the coronavirus pandemic. Ten foreign tourists, whose nationalities were not clear, were rescued from trekking routes in

Manaslu area in north-central Nepal, the official said.“Eight trekkers who were returning from an expedition to Kanchen-junga [world’s third highest peak] are also awaiting rescue opera-tions,” she said.

Nepal on Tuesday went under a seven-day lockdown, restricting movements to only essential services. The country has so far confirmed three cases of the coronavirus.

After first appearing in Wuhan, China, last December, the novel coronavirus has spread to at least 176 countries and ter-ritories, according to data com-piled by the US-based Johns Hopkins University.

The data shows more than 533,400 cases have been reported worldwide since last December, with the death toll above 24,100 and over 122,700 recoveries.

COVID-19 cases

in Maldives at 14

ANATOLIA — ANKARA

The Maldives yesterday announced that its corona-virus cases rose to 14, local media reported.

The country’s Health Min-ister Abdulla Ameen said a Maldivian, 38, tested positive for COVID-19, raising the total number of cases to 14, the daily Sun reported.

The infected Maldivian national had travelled to the UK and returned to his home country on March 21.

He had been placed under quarantine, and later began to show symptoms of the infection on March 25.

The Maldives, a country of nearly half a million of population, has other 13 cases of coronavirus, but all of them are foreigners, while nine have fully recovered.

Meanwhile, China’s envoy to the Maldives Ambassador Zhang Lizhon, announced on his Twitter handle that Beijing sent its first batch of “emergency medical sup-plies” to the island nation yesterday.

After first appearing in Wuhan, C hina , l as t December, the novel corona-virus has spread to at least 176 countries and territories. The World Health Organi-zation has declared the out-break a pandemic.

According to data com-piled by the US-based Johns Hopkins University, more than 549,600 cases have been reported worldwide since last December, with the death toll above 24,800, and over 127,500 recoveries.

Myanmar’s slow response faces criticismANATOLIA — YANGON

Even as the coronavirus of COVID-19 pandemic scare has rendered thousands of people jobless globally, workers are at a Myanmar factory producing protective clothing are working overtime to complete orders.

The workers at a factory, owned by Hong Kong-based Cobes Industries located in Bago, about 80km northeast of commercial capital Yangon, were asked by the management to work on public holidays to meet the demands.

“We are surprised, and of course we are happy to con-tinue working in this situation,” said Han Lin, a worker at the factory.

Health Ministry signed a deal with the factory on Wednesday to purchase 100,000 PPE (personal pro-tection equipment) for healthcare and frontline workers to deal with corona-virus suspects and patients, according to Bago Industrial

Zone Committee.“The factory workers are

racing against time to meet the deadline,” said an official from the Committee, adding the factory was required to deliver 20,000 PPE to the ministry by the first week of April.

Myanmar confirmed its first two cases of coronavirus on

Monday. A third case was reported on the second day on Tuesday. All these patients had returned from aboard.

On Thursday, the gov-ernment ordered all ministries to ask half of their employees to work form their home in order to break the chain of the virus transmission. “Most

government departments provide buses for their staff. So, it does not matter for civil servants either to work from office or home,” said Than Than Thwe, a director in Yangon regional government office.

Myanmar government then imposed further travel restriction on Wednesday including a 14-day quarantine period for both Myanmar and foreign nationals arriving in the country through Yangon, Man-dalay, and Nay Pyi Taw inter-national airports.

Myanmar authorities have been preparing quarantine facilities across the country tens of thousands of returnees, mostly migrant workers from neighboring countries, continue to arrive through the country’s border gates.

According to the health authority, more than 500 people have been isolated in hospitals and temporary quar-antine sites. It added that there are 275 suspected patients under investigation.

Firefighters disinfect a street market as a preventive measure against the coronavirus, in Yangon, Myanmar, yesterday.

In a major shift, Indonesiato allow lockdownsas infections soarREUTERS — JAKARTA

Indonesia’s chief security minister Mahfud MD said yesterday the national government would allow regional authorities to impose lockdowns to control the coro-navirus, in a major shift in strategy after previously resisting tougher restrictions.

The security chief also said the government was mulling a plan to ban “mudik” - the practice that sees millions of Indonesians leave towns and cities for their native villages at the end of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan in May.

The change of tack came after Indonesia, the world’s fourth most populous nation, announced yesterday its biggest one-day surge in coro-navirus cases, up 153 to 1,046.

Indonesia’s government has previously been reluctant

to embrace the stricter con-tainment strategies of other nations, and President Joko Widodo’s policy has been to encourage social distancing while not imposing tighter restrictions on movement.

But its eastern province of Papua defied Jakarta on Thursday by closing its airports, sea ports and land borders for 14 days in an attempt to prevent the coronavirus from spreading.

After the central gov-ernment initially sought to over-rule Papua’s moves, Mahfud told reporters yes-terday that Jakarta would now issue a regulation allowing regional governments to impose a strict quarantine on their territory. “It will regulate when regional areas can declare movement limitation, which is commonly known as a lockdown,” Mahfud said.

South Koreans toldto stay indoorsREUTERS — SEOUL

Authorities in South Korea pleaded with the public yesterday to stay indoors and avoid large gatherings as new coronavirus cases hovered close to 100 a day, while tighter border checks on people arriving from the United States took effect.

South Korea reported 91 new coronavirus cases yes-terday, taking its tally to 9,332, the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) said. The death toll rose by 13 to reach a total of 144.

It has reported similar daily numbers for the past two weeks, down from a high of more than 900 in late February.

But a recent surge in imported cases has prompted authorities to toughen entry rules for travellers from Europe and the United States.

The government has sought to convince a restless public that several more weeks of social distancing and self-iso-lation may be needed to give health authorities time to tamp down the smaller but still steady stream of new cases.

“People may no longer want to maintain social distancing as the spring has come and flowers are blossoming,” Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun told a news conference. “But isn’t it better to work harder to end the current pain then to suffer it for a long time?” People arriving from the United States have to spend two weeks in quarantine and those showing symptoms like fever will be tested. Tighter rules, including a mandatory test and quarantine took effect on Thursday for visitors from Europe on long-term visas.

South Korea has installed “walk-through” testing stations at Incheon airport to meet the

need for checks.The tent-like facilities, set

up just outside the airport, are capable of running more than 10 tests an hour, whereas regular hospitals conduct up to three and drive-through

stations handle six to eight, the health ministry said. The gov-ernment said yesterday it would require all inbound flights to check passengers’ temperatures starting from Monday and anyone with a temperature over

37.5 Celsius would be denied entry. The number of infected travellers has increased by more than fivefold to 309 over the past two weeks, 90% of them returning South Koreans, according to the KCDC.

Staff members prepare diagnostic components to be used in COVID-19 testing kits at a company near Cheongju, south of Seoul, yesterday.

As of yesterday, Indian authorities had confirmed 691 positive cases among 26,798 people tested, according to the Indian Council of Medical Research.

08 SATURDAY 28 MARCH 2020VIEWS

CHAIRMANSHEIKH DR. KHALID BIN THANI AL THANI

EDITOR-IN-CHIEFDR. KHALID BIN MUBARAK AL-SHAFI

editorinchief@pen.com.qa

ACTING MANAGING EDITORMOHAMMED SALIM MOHAMED

m.salim@pen.com.qa

DEPUTY MANAGING EDITORMOHAMMED OSMAN ALI osman@pen.com.qa

EDITORIAL

THE fight against COVID-19 pandemic is a collective effort and responsibility and all individuals of a society have to exhibit very careful attitude towards it. But if some careless people do not pay heed to the calls of caution by the government in any country then laws come into action to protect the safety and security of all.

The State of Qatar has taken taken all necessary measures, in a very swift manner, to control the spread of coronavirus and also educating masses about their responsibilities in the face of global health challenge.

Amir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani issued on Thursday Law Number 9 of 2020 amending some of the provisions of the Decree Law Number 17 of 1990 on the prevention of infectious diseases.

Under the law, the provisions of Articles 4 of Decree Law Number 17 of 1990 will provide for that burden of reporting stipulated in the previous article falls on every doctor who examines someone who is infected or suspected of having an infectious disease; the infected person and their guardian, the president or representative of the infected person’s university, institute or school, infected person’s direct manager - if the infection took place or suspected to have taken place during performing work duties -, and on the employer, in case of expatriates, whether the infection took place inside or outside the state; when any of them knows about it.

Also among other amendments in the law, Article (6-bis) stipulates that every person who is placed in iso-lation or quarantine, with the knowledge of the health authorities, according to the provisions of the previous article, must remain in the place of isolation designated by that authority and abide by the procedures for iso-lation and control.

The provisions of articles 21 provides for that, without prejudice to any more severe punishment stip-ulated in any other law, including the procedures and measures taken by the Council of Ministers in accordance with the provisions of Article, any violation is punishable by imprisonment for a period not exceeding three years and a fine not exceeding QR200,000 or by either of these two penalties.

Meanwhile, Attorney-General H E Dr. Ali bin Fetais Al Marri recently issued a decision to establish the Health Prosecution, as part of the precautionary and preventive measures taken by the state to preserve public health and community safety.

The decision to establish the Health Prosecution comes within means to deter violators of public health laws. The new Prosecution office is responsible for investigating in all health-related crimes.

Protecting people’s safety

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Quote of the day

It is clear that we have entered a recession that

will be worse than in 2009 following the global

financial crisis.

Kristalina Georgieva, IMF Managing Director

A doctor shows the welcome desk of a consultation centre dedicated to COVID-19 suspect patients, in Tinteniac, western France, yesterday.

Around the world, workers in what have been deemed “essential services” are tire-lessly trying to keep the coro-navirus pandemic in check and to keep us all going in the meantime.

These are the nurses, farmworkers, grocery clerks, truck drivers and teachers, whose backs many of us stand on so that we can engage in our “social distancing”.

And guess what - an eight or, perhaps, 10-hour shift in a grocery store, whether stocking shelves in France or working the cash register in the United States, was not a particularly pleasant expe-rience before the coronavirus shocked the world into

realising that these essential workers exist.

The question is, will this global health emergency wake us up to the need to change our global economy to more fairly benefit the many who keep it afloat? Or, will we merely recognise the workers in essential services now with a grin when we see them at the store (where you can still shop in stores) or the clinic, or a “thank you” post on Facebook, only to forget about them tomorrow?

The definition of essential services varies by country but, typically, the same occupa-tions tend to make the list.

For instance, when Cali-fornia established its “shelter in place” order, which calls upon the state’s residents to stay at home when at all pos-sible and to refrain from public gatherings, it explicitly exempted professions in what the US federal government deems the “critical infra-structure sector”.

This sector includes people who work in agriculture, healthcare, water and waste management, education and public security, including spe-cific professions such as police officers, firefighters, first-responders, cable installation workers and journalists. Let us start with agriculture - what has been going on in food pro-duction while so many of us have been staying at home and keeping a safe distance from our neighbours?

In California - Monterey county specifically - farm-workers have been told that they are exempt from the shelter-in-place order and are expected to continue

working in the fields.This means there is no

social distancing for farm-workers - that is, unless the space that counts is the one between the people who eat California lettuce from the safety of their homes and the workers who risk their health when picking it.

The message is clear - if you are labouring in the fields in California, where most of the US’s fruits and vegetables originate, then you have to go to work, no matter if a virus infects thousands, daily.

To make matters worse, some estimate that between 50 percent and 75 percent of the close-to-three-million people who work in the fields are undocumented immi-grants, which makes them subject to detention and pos-sible deportation. Their labour is also poorly paid, with an average salary between $15,000 and $18,000 a year.

In France, President Emmanuel Macron declared those who work in the food industry - grocery store workers included - to be essential. Thanks to this, the French people can rest assured that when they go out and do their shopping, the coronavirus will not shutter the places where they buy their daily necessities.

Were these workers simi-larly appreciated by the gov-ernment before the corona-virus came to France? Not really - Macron orchestrated a labour reform that took a knife to the industry, leading stores such as the super-market chain, Carrefour, to lay off thousands of people just a couple of years ago.

Those still working, because they are expected to do so, are doing so for longer periods of time than before because, during his tenure, their president has given companies greater powers to dismiss workers and to set the payments in cases of unfair dismissal.

The situation is similar in the United Kingdom. There, it is the workers in the “key indus-tries” who keep the economy going. Looking at healthcare especially, the country’s already understaffed National Health Service - as a result of 10 years of government aus-terity policies - is being forced by the coronavirus outbreak to take on thousands of unex-pected patients.

And in the UK, more than 13 percent of people working in healthcare are foreign nationals. To add insult to injury, these are people who have had to endure arguably racist remarks by the coun-try’s prime minister which have mocked darker-skinned, foreign-born, working people.

Across these many coun-tries, it is unclear what would happen if essential workers decide that they do not want to work and stay at home like the rest of us, as well as for how long they will continue to labour under extreme conditions.

If history is any guide then it indicates that the exploi-tation of essential workers can go on almost without end.

We can do our social dis-tancing all we want. But without food, we will see how long that lasts.

Anthony Pahnke is an Assistant Professor of Inter-national Relations at San Francisco State University.

THE WASHINGTON POST

Some might take this news as a silver lining to an otherwise dark time: Harmful climate-affecting emissions are way down in China, Italy and else-where as social isolation measures keep people at home. Declines in driving, flying, manufacturing and other economic activity account for the drop.

As with the decline in global emissions due to the 2008-2009 financial crisis, this is not progress. Once covid-19 is conquered and people return to work, emis-sions will rise again, absent new policy. More to the point: Addressing global warming cannot depend on economic hardship. Governments must manage the transition off fossil fuels so it occurs steadily and with minimal disruption.

Scientists continue to offer nothing but warnings. Even as the novel coronavirus spread, the United Nations announced this month that 2019 was the second-warmest year on record. El Niño, a natural cycle, boosted temperatures in 2016 - still officially the warmest year - and was largely absent in 2019. But the background on which El Niño and other natural phenomena occur is getting ever warmer. Last year would have been the warmest if it had seen a strong El Niño. Future El Niño years will no doubt break the record.

The long-term trend is key. “The past five years are the five warmest on record, and the past decade, 2010-2019, is also the warmest on record,” the United Nations found. “Since the 1980s, each

successive decade has been warmer than any preceding one since 1850.”

Devastating effects already have arrived. “In 2019, heatwaves, combined with long periods of drought, were linked to wildfires of unprecedented size. This was the case in Australia, where millions of hectares were set ablaze, and in Siberia and other Arctic regions hit by wildfires of record intensity,” Petteri Taalas, the secretary-general of the World Meteor-ological Organization, said.

But things can get much worse. A study published this month in the journal Environ-mental Research Letters found that areas currently home to 1.2 billion people will see extreme heat and humidity - enough to induce dangerous heat stress in humans - every year by 2100.

New York, for example, would see about 24 days of extreme heat and humidity annually. That is if world gov-ernments limit warming to only 3 degrees Celsius, as their current path suggests. At 2 degrees, places that are home to 800 million people would see these punishing conditions yearly, and at 1.5, the number would be 500 million people.

As governments move from crisis to recovery, hardship will leave them less inclined than ever to grapple with climate change. But they should take recovery as an opportunity to emphasize sus-tainability. Covid-19 is the dis-aster of now. Climate change will be the disaster that defines younger generations’ lives. It will unfold over the coming decades, it will be pervasive, and it will be deadly, too.

Appreciated or exploited? Key workers in a coronavirus world

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ANTHONY PAHNKE AL JAZEERA

These are the nurses, farmworkers, grocery clerks, truck drivers and teachers, whose backs many of us stand on so that we can engage in our “social distancing”.

09SATURDAY 28 MARCH 2020 ASIA

Philippine doctorsoverwhelmed by deluge of casesREUTERS — MANILA

Private hospitals in the Philip-pines capital Manila have stopped accepting coronavirus patients in the face of surging numbers of sufferers and people seeking tests, the hospitals said.

The Philippines has reported relatively fewer infec-tions than many other countries in Southeast Asia, but medical experts say a lack of testing has meant that the scale of the epi-demic has gone undetected.

“It’s like wartime,” said Eugenio Ramos, a doctor and head of The Medical City, a Manila private hospital, which was among the first to turn away coronavirus patients.

It has attended to more than 1,000 people who feared they had coronavirus and is cur-rently treating more than 100 suspected coronavirus patients, 14 in intensive care.

“More and more are coming, a lot of scared people, some of them already in their advanced stage,” Ramos said this week - adding that facilities were so stretched that many who should be in the intensive care unit were just being intubated with breathing tubes to keep them alive.

The scenes are akin to those

in hospitals in countries that have been overwhelmed by coronavirus cases, but comes less than three weeks since the country of 107 million reported its first case of local transmission.

The Philippines has reported 803 cases and 54 deaths. Malaysia, with the highest number of infections in Southeast Asia at 2,161, has had 26 deaths.

The situation in the Philip-pines is similar to that in Indo-nesia, the region’s most pop-ulous country, where there is an even higher ratio of deaths to detected cases — an indicator for doctors that the number of infections may be much higher.

Former Health Minister Esperanza Cabral said the reported infection rate was probably just the tip of the iceberg, given the Philippines has so far only tested 2,147 people.

“We cannot gauge the extent of the outbreak until we have tested about 10,000 to 20,000 people,” Cabral said.

Testing in the Philippines is to be ramped up with the arrival of 100,000 test kits from China.

Modelling from the Future of Humanity Institute at the University of Oxford suggests the number of infections in the

Philippines may already be higher than 11,000.

The Philippines took drastic measures to contain the spread after its first domestic case on March 7, becoming the third country after China and Italy to put its people under home quarantine, suspend transport, work and commercial activity.

But the health system is weak.

The Philippines, which on average sends 19,000 trained nurses overseas each year, has 10 beds and 14 doctors per 10,000 people, according to data from the World Health Organization. Italy has more than 40 doctors and 30 beds per 10,000 people.

An emergency ward worker described patients waiting up to six hours to be seen and inex-perienced staff treating critical patients due to manpower shortages.

Nine medical workers have died, and hundreds more have been quarantined for being close to sufferers.

The University of Santo Tomas hospital has 530 staff quarantined. The Chinese General Hospital and Medical Center said it had insufficient testing kits and protective gear and could not take more coro-navirus patients.

Under pressure from 11 private hospitals, the gov-ernment has now dedicated

three public hospitals to serve as special COVID-19 treatment centres — but they themselves are also under strain.

“We have every reason to be scared,” the private hos-pitals said in a letter appealing for The head of the emergency department of St. Luke’s Medical Centre, Richard Enecilla, said it had received 120 possible coronavirus-related patients in one day, and made them line up on the hos-pital driveway to limit exposure.

“The way it exploded caught a lot us off-guard,” he said. “The volume of cases went up and our capacity to serve went down at the same time.”

A resident walk past a checkpoint along a street in Manila, yesterday, after the government imposed an enhanced quarantine as a preventive measure against the COVID-19 outbreak in the city.

Malaysia may buy test

kits from South KoreaREUTERS — KUALA LUMPUR

Malaysia is considering buying up to 1 million coronavirus test kits from South Korea as it steps up efforts to screen more people for the virus, the government said yesterday. The number of infections in Malaysia has doubled in a week to 2,161, the highest total in Southeast Asia. Many are linked to a religious gathering at a mosque that was attended by 16,000 people.

Malaysia is testing rapid antigen test kits from South Korea that show if someone has COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, Health Ministry Director General Noor Hisham Abdullah said at a news con-ference. “If the accuracy is high, we may place 1 million order”. “Hopefully the decision will be reached tonight.”

Rapid test kits could help determine if somebody has the virus faster than diagnostic tests that draw on a nasal swab to confirm active infection.

Malaysia has done a total of 30,948 tests as of yesterday noon, ministry data showed.

PIA stopped from operating flights to UK, CanadaINTERNEWS — RAWALPINDI

The sharp spread of coronavirus cases in the United Kingdom and Canada has forced the government of Pakistan to withdraw the permission it gave to the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) to operate four special flights to the two countries.

PIA spokesman Abdullah Hafeez said that in view of the recent spike in the number of diag-nosed coronavirus cases in the UK and Canada, the government, keeping the health and safety of citizens in consideration, had with-drawn the permission it gave to the PIA to operate its special flights to these countries.

Hafeez said that in view of the government’s decision, the PIA had cancelled planned special flights to London, Manchester, Bir-mingham and Toronto scheduled

for Friday and Saturday.He said the PIA regretted the

inconvenience caused to passengers but added that passengers and crew’s safety and health were always the foremost important element for the national flag carrier.

“The changing dynamics may be regretful, but the pandemic is forcing authorities and govern-ments globally to continuously review their strategies to fight this challenge and ensure maximum protection to the people,” he said.

The spokesman asked pas-sengers to contact the PIA call centre for more information and updates.

“Stay safe, stay healthy, and stay indoors,” the spokesman said.

Earlier on Wednesday, the Pakistan International Airlines had decided to operate four special flights on the international route on humanitarian grounds for the

people stranded in Pakistan due to closure of international flight operations.

PIA spokesman Abdullah Hafeez had said that of the four flights, three flights would be operated for the UK and one for Canada.

A PIA flight PK-781 was scheduled to take off from Lahore for Toronto on Friday, March 27, while PK-709 was planned from Islamabad to Manchester on Sat-urday, March 28.

The flight PK-757 was to be operated from Islamabad to London on Saturday, March 28 while PK 791 was scheduled from Islamabad to Birmingham on Sat-urday, March 28.

Due to rise in the number of coronavirus cases in Britain and Canada, the government decided to withdraw the relaxation of oper-ating four special flights.

A vendor sells facemasks on a street during a government-imposed nationwide lockdown in Karachi, yesterday.

Indonesia's Mount Merapi spews massive ash cloudAFP — JAKARTA

Indonesia’s most active volcano Mount Merapi erupted yesterday, shooting a column of ash some 5,000 metres into the air in its second major eruption this month.

Ash and sand covered areas several kilometres away from the peak of the rumbling crater near Indonesia’s Yogyakarta. But authorities did not raise Merapi’s alert level.

“There has been no reports of damage from the eruption. We urge people to stay calm and not panic,” national dis-aster mitigation agency spokesman Agus Wibowo said.

Merapi erupted earlier this month, shooting a massive ash cloud some 6,000 metres in the air. That eruption coated Yogyakarta and neighbouring city Solo with grey dust and forced an airport closure.

Mount Merapi’s last major eruption in 2010 killed more than 300 people and forced the evacuation of 280,000 residents. That was Merapi’s most powerful eruption since 1930, which killed around 1,300 people, while another explosion in 1994 took about 60 lives.

The Southeast Asian nation — an archipelago of more than 17,000 islands and islets — has nearly 130 active volcanoes.

It sits on the Pacific “Ring of Fire”, a vast zone of geo-logical instability where the collision of tectonic plates causes frequent quakes and major volcanic activity,

Afghan government selects negotiators for talks with TalibanANATOLIA — KABUL

The Afghan government has announced a 21-member committee that would hold direct peace talks with the Taliban.

Abdul Salam Rahimi, pres-ident’s special representative and state minister for peace, said former intelligence chief Mohammed Masoum Stanekzai will head the committee.

“President of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan wishes this delegation success and hopes it would keep greater national interests, mutual values and Afghanistan’s prin-ciple stand in view during all

rounds of talks,” Rahimy said in a message.

Earlier this week, in a major breakthrough, the Taliban agreed to send a delegation to Afghanistan to facilitate the thorny prisoners swap as part of the peace deal with the US.

In Kabul, the National Security Council also announced the Peace Initial Contact Group met virtually with the Taliban on Wednesday and discussed initial technical steps for the release of prisoners.

It said subject to further discussions, and pursuant to President Ashraf Ghani’s decree, 100 prisoners will be set free on

humanitarian grounds _including health, age and vul-nerability to COVID-19 — by March 31 after guarantees by Taliban and the prisoners that they will not re-enter the fight.

“To carry out these further discussions, a Taliban team will meet with the government face-to-face in Afghanistan in the coming days”, it said.

The rejuvenated yet fragile Afghan peace process faced deadlocks as differences per-sisted between Kabul and the Taliban over a proposed exchange of prisoners.

According to official sources, there are 12,000-15,000 inmates, including foreigners

from Pakistan, Central Asia and Gulf countries, in different prisons across Afghanistan.

The Taliban have demanded the release of 5,000 of their mil-itants in return for the release of 1,000 captives, including Afghan

government officials and security personnel.

The Afghan government, however, insists on releasing them in phases along with intra-Afghan talks and a ceasefire in place.

China reports onelocal coronavirustransmission caseANATOLIA — ANKARA

Only one of the 55 new corona-virus cases reported in China over the past 24 hours was locally transmitted, the country’s health authorities said yesterday.

In a statement, China’s National Health Commission (NHC) said the local trans-mission case was found in eastern Zhejiang province, while 54 others were people who had come to the country from abroad.

The NHC had found no locally transmitted COVID-19 case for the past several days.

The commission reported five deaths in the country over the past 24 hours, four of them in Wuhan, where the virus emerged last December.

The number of COVID-19 cases in China since December is now 81,340, while the death toll is 3,292, according to the statement.

A total of 74,588 patients have recovered and been dis-charged from hospitals across the country.

The NHC said 595 of China’s COVID-19 cases were people from overseas.

China assists Asia in fighting pandemicANATOLIA — KARACHI China has sent medical supplies to several South and Southeast Asian nations to help them stem the fast growing coronavirus pandemic.

Beijing’s assistance coin-cided with a call from the World Health Organization (WHO) that urged South Asian countries to scale-up their fight against the deadly coronavirus.

In Pakistan, a special plane carrying medical supplies, including over 50,000 testing kits, face masks, and other equipment landed yesterday, an official statement said.

This was the second cache of medical supplies donated by Beijing to its longtime ally Islamabad in less than a week.

China’s Ambassador to

Bangladesh Li Jiming handed over medical supplies including 10,000 testing kits, 10,000 sets of personal protective equipment (PPE) and 1,000 infrared thermometers, Bang-ladeshi officials said on Thursday.

“On the independence of Bangladesh this a gift to friendly

Bangladesh,” Li told reporters at Dhaka airport.

Nepal, which is struggling with lack of medical equipment in its battle against COVID-19, has reached out to Beijing.

A Chinese company, Savanta Biotechnology, on

Wednesday donated 2,000 sets of coronavirus testing kits to Nepal’s Embassy in Beijing.

The kits worth $4700 are likely to reach Kathmandu over the weekend.

Today, Nepal is sending a chartered plane to the Chinese city of Guangzhou to bring back medical supplies and equipment.

China has granted Sri Lanka a concessionary loan of $500m to deal with the coronavirus crisis.

In a related development, Jack Ma (pictured), China’s top philanthropist and founder of Ali Baba Group, has sent sup-plies to many countries in Asia including Afghanistan, Bang-ladesh, Cambodia, Laos, Mal-dives, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

The emergency supplies included 1.8 million masks, 210,000 test kits, 36,000 pro-tective suits, plus ventilators and thermometers, according to a statement by the group.

China sent its first batch of emergency medical supplies to Maldives on Friday, Beijing’s envoy to Male tweeted.

To Malaysia, China sent its second batch of emergency drugs to fight the novel coronavirus.

After emerging in Wuhan, China last December, corona-virus has spread to at least 176 countries and regions.

Nearly 559,000 people have tested positive worldwide, with the death toll above 25,300 and over 127,700 recoveries, according to the US-based Johns Hopkins University.

Beijing’s assistance coincided with a call from the World Health Organization (WHO) that urged South Asian countries to scale-up their fight against the deadly coronavirus.

REUTERS — KABUL

The USspecial envoy for Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad congrat-ulated Afghan political and civil society leaders yesterday on forming a negotiating team for talks with Taliban.

“This consensus is a meaningful step that moves the parties significantly closer to intra-Afghan negotiations,” he said on Twitter.

Khalilzad congratulates Afghanofficials on ‘inclusive’ team

10 SATURDAY 28 MARCH 2020EUROPE

Britain’s Johnson testspositive for COVID-19;Spain sees record deathsAFP — MADRID

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson became the first major world leader to test positive for the coronavirus yesterday as Spain saw a record number of deaths from the pandemic that is threatening millions around the world.

Johnson, whose country has seen more than 11,600 declared coronavirus cases and 578 deaths, said he had developed mild symptoms over the pre-vious 24 hours and was self-iso-lating after testing positive.

Spain reported that its death toll had hit 4,858 after 769 people died in 24 hours, a record one-day figure for fatal-ities and far higher than in Italy, which counted 662 deaths in its last daily update on Thursday night.

Europe has suffered the brunt of the coronavirus crisis in recent weeks, with millions across the continent on lockdown and the streets of Paris, Rome and Madrid eerily empty.

Prime Minister Edouard Philippe warned that France — reeling from the deaths of more than 1,600 people including a 16-year-old girl — was facing difficult days ahead.

“We find ourselves in a crisis that will last, in a health situation that will not improve any time soon,” Philippe said.

But focus is turning from Europe to the United States, where the number of known infections reached almost 86,000 yesterday, higher than both China and hard-hit Italy.

In New York City, health workers are battling a surging

toll of dead and infected at the US epicentre of the crisis, including an increasing number of younger patients.

US President Donald Trump, who has been accused of down-playing the enormous scale of the crisis, spoke by telephone with China’s Xi Jinping who said the two countries needed to “unite to fight” the pandemic.

The coronavirus first emerged in China late last year before spreading globally, with 539,360 declared cases regis-tered in 183 countries and territories.

Beijing managed to contain its spread with lockdowns and quarantines and its epicentre Wuhan is in the process of easing severe movement restrictions in place for two months.

Three billion people around the world have been told to stay indoors, as health care systems even in the most developed nations are stretched to breaking point.

Medical workers have been having to make difficult choices.

“If I’ve got five patients and only one bed, I have to choose who gets it,” Sara Chinchilla, a paediatrician at a hospital near Madrid, said.

“People are dying who could be saved but there’s no space in intensive care.”

Even with lockdowns

implemented around the world, researchers at Imperial College London said on Thursday the global death toll could be staggering.

Their model shows 1.86 million people could die, with nearly 470 million infected this year.

Failure to act swiftly in imposing lockdowns and strict social distancing could make those numbers far higher, they warned.

The lockdowns and other measures are wreaking havoc on the global economy, with fears of a downturn worse than the

Great Depression of the 1930s.Leaders from the Group of

20 major economies held crisis talks by video link on Thursday, announcing a $5 trillion financial rescue package “to counteract the social, economic

and financial impacts of the pandemic”.

Announcements of unprec-edented stimulus measures have helped markets bounce back after a brutal month, but people around the world are

bracing for economic hardship. The World Tourism Organ-

ization said yesterday it expected tourist arrivals to fall by 20-30 percent this year, with losses of $300bn-450bn in international tourism receipts.

Swiss museum to payheirs for Nazi-era art trove, plans 2022 exhibitionREUTERS — ZURICH

Switzerland’s Basel Art Museum will pay an undis-closed sum to heirs of a German art historian, it said yesterday, concluding it bought works from his personal collection in the 1930s after he was perse-cuted by the Nazi government.

The museum, now closed due to the coronavirus, has more than 100 drawings and prints, including a “Madonna” lithograph from Norwegian painter Edvard Munch poten-tially worth millions of dollars, that once belonged to Jewish art historian Curt Glaser.

The museum will keep the works, for which it plans a 2022 exhibition detailing Glaser’s life, his role as a critic and friendships with artists including Munch, famous for “The Scream”.

When the Nazis seized power in 1933, Glaser was ousted as director of Berlin’s Kunstbibliothek art-historical library. He auctioned much of his personal collection, including works bought by Basel, before fleeing to America, where he died in 1943.

After rejecting restitution claims by several of Glaser’s descendants in 2008, the museum took up the case again when documents emerged indicating museum officials in

1933 knew they were buying Glaser’s works at a “cheap price” just as Jews in Germany faced mounting oppression.

Valerie Sattler, a US-born Glaser descendant who plays cello with the Nuremberg Sym-phony in Germany, has spear-headed efforts to reach an agreement with the museum.

“It’s been a long time coming and we’re very glad they re-opened the case,” Sattler said in an interview. “It was almost 10 years after they had refused to talk about any kind of settlement. We’re very happy they re-considered that.”

Basel officials resumed talks with Glaser’s descendants given the circumstances under which his works were acquired and evolving views of prin-ciples governing art works that changed hands in Nazi Germany, the museum said.

“He was definitely a victim of National Socialism,” a museum spokeswoman said. “We tried to look at this with fresh eyes.”

A half-dozen Glaser heirs in the US, Brazil and Germany have successfully petitioned museums and private owners including Amsterdam’s Rijks-museum and Cologne’s Ludwig Museum to return other works.

Sattler said the 2022 exhi-bition was a key part of the agreement.

Britain’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson during his first remote news conference on the COVID-19 outbreak, at Downing Street in London, on Wednesday.

Boris Johnson, whose country has seen more than 11,600 declared coronavirus cases and 578 deaths, said he had developed mild symptoms over the previous 24 hours and was self-isolating after testing positive.

Criminals exploiting global health crisis: EuropolANATOLIA — ANKARA

Fraudsters are taking advantage of the global health crisis due to coronavirus, the EU’s police agency said yesterdy.“Criminals have been quick to seize opportunities to exploit the crisis by adapting their modi operandi or engaging in new criminal activities,” said Europol in a recent report.

Europol shed light on four main categories of crimes: cybercrime, fraud, counterfeit and substandard goods, and organized property crime.

As people stay at home to avert the spread of the virus, some criminal activities seem “less visible”.

Europol said fraudsters especially benefit from the increased demand of products such as protective equipment and disinfectants, which are hard to find in the markets at this point.

“The sale of counterfeit healthcare and sanitary products as well as personal protective equipment and counterfeit pharmaceutical products has increased man-ifold since the outbreak of the

crisis,” said the statement. Catherine De Bolle,

Europol’s executive director, said that while many people are helping out victims of the crisis, criminals are exploiting it.

“This is unacceptable: such criminal activities during a public health crisis are partic-ularly threatening and can carry real risks to human lives,” she added.

According to the report, burglars enter the homes by impersonating as medical staff providing information material or hygiene products or con-ducting a COVID-19 test.

Europol also warned against cyber-fraud cases while many people are working from home.

After emerging in Wuhan, China last December, corona-virus has spread to at least 176 countries and regions.

More than 551,000 people have tested positive worldwide, with the death toll above 24,900 and over 127,000 recoveries, according to the US-based Johns Hopkins University.

The World Health Organ-ization has declared Europe the new epicenter of the virus.

Germany plans mass immunity study to track virusAFP — FRANKFURT AM MAIN

German researchers plan to regularly test over 100,000 people to see if they have overcome infection with COVID-19 to track its spread, an institute behind the plan confirmed yesterday.

A spokeswoman for Bruns-wick’s Helmholtz Institute for Infectious Disease Research confirmed a report in news weekly Der Spiegel that large-scale testing for coronavirus antibodies could start in April

if researchers are given the green light.

“You could give immune people something similar to a vaccination certificate that could allow them exceptions from limits on their activities,” Helm-holtz Institute epidemiologist Gerard Krause, who is tipped to lead the study, told Der Spiegel.

German schools, non-essential shops and restaurants are now closed and public gath-erings of more than two people banned.

Krause would work

institutions on the front line of Germany’s response to the virus, including disease control authority the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) and Berlin’s Charite hospital.

By yesterday, the RKI reported over 42,000 con-firmed coronavirus infections in Europe’s most populous nation, and 253 deaths.

“Results from the study will make it easier to decide when schools could be reopened and large events permitted,” Der Spiegel wrote.

The first results are expected in late April.

But even if the study is approved, initial readings might not be completely reliable.

Tests currently available can show false positives for coronavirus antibodies, as 90 percent of adults already have immunity against common, harmless viruses from the same family.

“Researchers hope a more precise testing process will be available in two to three months,” a report added.

Prince Harry, Meghan now based in California

AFP — LONDON

Prince Harry and his wife Meghan have permanently relocated to California amid the coronavirus pandemic, media reports said yesterday.

The royal couple flew by private jet from Canada to Los Angeles last week before the border between the two coun-tries closed because of the deadly virus outbreak, The Sun reported.

“Harry and Meghan have left Canada now for good,” a “royal insider” told the tabloid.

“The borders were closing and flights were stopping. They

had to get out.”The border between the US

and Canada — the longest in the world — closed last week in response to the COVID-19 pan-demic, as both countries see escalating numbers of cases.

Harry and Meghan rocked the royal family with their January announcement that they will no longer represent the monarchy as they pursue a new, financially independent life.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex will formally step back from royal duties on March 31.

It had been thought they would base themselves in

Canada, where they have spent time in recent months.

But The Sun said the move to California “had been planned for some time” and that the couple had “realised Canada would not work out for various reasons”.

“They want to be based in the Los Angeles area,” the source said.

Meghan grew up in the Cal-ifornian city and her mother, Doria Ragland, still lives there.

The one-time actress also has a network of friends and work contacts in Los Angeles, where she could now restart her career.

Britain’s Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex (right) and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex arrive to attend the Endeavour Fund Awards at Mansion House in London, recently.

Serbia sentences man to threeyears for violating quarantineANATOLIA — BELGRADE

Serbia yesterday sentenced a man to three years in prison for violating the mandatory quarantine period after returning from abroad.

He was convicted for “failure to comply with health regula-tions at the time of epidemic” as the country heightens measures to stem the spread of coronavirus.

The 38-year-old man had returned to Serbia from an interna-tional trip and had been asked by airport authorities to self quar-antine. His trial was held via a video link on Skype.

There are 112 people jailed pending trial in the country over similar offences.

Serbia has so far confirmed 528 cases of the novel coronavirus.

Air pollution plunges in European cities amid lockdownREUTERS — LONDON Air pollution from nitrogen dioxide has fallen by an esti-mated 40 percent in three European cities, according to new satellite data released by the European Space Agency (ESA), coinciding with a wide-spread lockdown to curb the spread of the coronavirus.

The space agency’s Coper-nicus Sentinel-5P satellite mission released three com-posite images showing nitrogen dioxide concentrations in the period March 14 to 25 over France, Spain and Italy, com-pared to the monthly average of concentrations from 2019.

“This is a first level estimate; some of these values have gone down by about 40 percent of the normal value... so a very drastic decrease,” Josef Aschbacher, ESA Director of Earth Observation Pro-grammes, said via a video call.

Researchers studying the impact of emissions from industry and transport on climate change and human health are scrambling to understand the possible impli-cations of coronavirus pan-demic as economies slow, flights are disrupted and quar-antines imposed.

“What you really see are the centres of this pollution… It is quite a good first level indicator of anthropogenic pollution coming from traffic and industry”.

11SATURDAY 28 MARCH 2020 EUROPE

North Macedonia becomes Nato’s 30th memberAP — BRUSSELS

North Macedonia yesterday officially became the 30th member of the Nato military alliance.

“North Macedonia is now part of the Natofamily, a family of 30 nations and almost 1 billion people. A family based on the certainty that, no matter what challenges we face, we are all stronger and safer together,” Nato Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said in a statement.

North Macedonia’s flag will be raised alongside those of the other 29 member countries at Nato headquarters in Brussels and two other commands simultaneously on Monday.

Given the impact of the coronavirus around the world, Macedonian President Stevo Pendarovski said “we cannot rejoice and mark the event as it should (be marked)… But, this is a historic success that after three decades of inde-pendence, finally confirms Macedonian security and guarantees our future.

Congratulations to all of you! We deserve it!”

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the country’s membership “will support greater integration, democratic reform, trade, security, and sta-bility across the region. North Macedonia’s accession also reaffirms to other aspirants that Nato’s door remains open to

those countries willing and able to make the reforms necessary to meet Nato’s high standards, and to accept the responsibil-ities as well as benefits of membership.”

It marks the end of a long quest for the former Yugoslav republic. Joining Nato and the European Union has been a

priority for its leaders, but a dispute with neighbouring Greece over the country’s name stalled progress for more than two decades.

North Macedonia previously was known as Macedonia, a name it shared with a Greek province. Under a 2017 deal with Athens, the country

changed its name and Greece agreed to drop objections to its Nato and eventual EU membership.

It’s been a big week for North Macedonia. On Thursday, European Union leaders gave the small Balkans country the green light to begin EU mem-bership talks.

The offices of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of North Macedonia changed its lights to blue as North Macedonia officially became the 30th member of the Nato alliance, in Skopje yesterday.

Hungary PM announces two-week lockdown over virusREUTERS – BUDAPEST

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban (pictured) announced a two-week lockdown yesterday and pressed on with plans to give the government extra powers to fight the coronavirus, despite criticism by rights groups.

People will be allowed to go to work and do basic errands and exercise in the open, but not gather in large groups under measures that take effect today.

Orban said the epidemic was expected to peak in Hungary in June or July and flagged more ecomomic stimulus to be announced in April.

“Restrictions put in place so far have been efficient,” he told public radio, but said additional measures were needed to step

up the fight against the coronavirus.

The prime minister, who has gradually increased his power during his decade in office, has proposed an open-ended extension of a state of emergency that would give the government the right to pass decrees to handle the crisis.

Legislation on the proposal — which has triggered criticism by human rights groups and the Council of Europe, Europe’s main rights forum — contains no timeframe.

Orban’s Fidesz party has a strong majority in parliament and the assembly is expected to pass the bill on Monday without support from the opposition, which has rejected it.

UN human rights spokesman Rupert Colville told a news conference the bill “appears to give the gov-ernment practically unlimited powers to rule by decree and bypass parliamentary scrutiny with no clear cut-off date.”

He also said a part of the legislation that would impose prison sentences of up to five years on people spreading false information about the crisis

could “negatively affect the legitimate work of journalists and have a potentially chilling effect on freedom of expression in Hungary.”

Justice Minister Judit Varga rejected criticism of the bill and said it was “very damaging fake news” that the law was intended to neutralise the national assembly or give the government unlimited scope to act.

She said the government would be empowered to adopt only measures that were nec-essary and proportionate to fight the virus.

“This law (allows) the gov-ernment to act,” she said, adding that the bill was also designed to punish any inten-tional “malicious disinfor-mation campaign.”

Asked whether the clause

also referred to journalists, Varga said it was not about the profession but the act.

“Journalists are not excluded from the scope of this provision and nor am I,” said Janos Boka, state secretary of the justice ministry.

Norbert Roettgen, a con-servative ally of Chancellor Angela Merkel who chairs Ger-many’s parliamentary foreign affairs committee, called on the European Union’s executive to intervene against the legislation.

“The (European) Com-mission has to act immediately,” he told weekly magazine Der Spiegel.

Hungary has recorded around 300 coronavirus cases and 10 deaths. Orban has said the actual number of cases is probably much higher.

Poll finds Russians split overallowing Putin to extend ruleREUTERS — MOSCOW

Russia is sharply divided over a constitutional change that would allow President Vladimir Putin to extend his rule until 2036, an opinion poll published yesterday has found.

The poll by the Levada Centre found 6 percent of 1,624 people of different ages polled across Russia from March 19 to 25 said that they were unable to answer the questions posed, while 47 percent opposed the measure and 48 percent supported it.

Putin, 67, who has dominated the Russian political landscape as president or prime minister for two decades, maintains a high approval rating, although his trust rating has been sliding and hit a six-year low in February.

The Moscow-based Levada Centre said 30 percent were categorically against the reform, with 17 percent inclined to oppose it, compared with 23 percent staunchly in favour and 25 percent inclined to support it.

The proposed change, part of a package of reforms that has already been approved by parliament and Russia’s Constitutional Court, would reset Putin’s presidential term tally to zero, allowing him to serve two more back-to-back six year terms.

REUTERS — BRATISLAVA

Slovakia is closing border crossings with Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Austria for the transit of trucks over 7.5 tonnes delivering non-essential goods, the police said yesterday.

European Union countries have clamped down on borders to contain the spread of coronavirus, shutting down much of the bloc and leading to massive lines of trucks at border crossings seeking to get deliveries through.

Slovak police said in a statement that they would no longer allow transit of large trucks except those carrying livestock or perishable goods, or trucks with delivery points in Slovakia.

“We took this measure with immediate effect to prevent accidents near the border crossings where long jams are formed because of lengthy handling by Hun-garian authorities,” police spokeswoman Denisa Bardyova said.

Slovakia banned interna-tional passenger travel on March 12 but the border remained open for freight.

Slovakia has reported 226 positive cases out of a total of 4,751 tests so far. The first two patients recovered this week. Neighbouring Czech Republic, with 10.7 million people, has tested 26,698 and reported 1,775 cases as of Thursday.

There have been far fewer diagnoses of coronavirus in central Europe so far than in bigger western neighbours like Germany. But the region's economies have been hard hit due to shutdowns of borders, most shops and restaurants, and an increasing number of business idling or limiting factory output.

Slovakia to limittransit of trucksdue to border jams

This is a historic success that after three decades of independence, finally confirms Macedonian security and guarantees our future. Congratulations to all of you! We deserve it!:” President Stevo Pendarovski said.

World’s worst air adds to Belgrade’s virus woesREUTERS — BELGRADE

Belgrade’s residents yesterday isolated themselves not only from coronavirus but also from acrid smoke, which defied strong winds to transform the Serbian capital into the city with the world’s most polluted air.

The Air Visual API website, which compiles data from ground sensors worldwide, ranked the Serbian capital temporarily at the top of its global index of cities with the worst air pollution.

Belgrade’s pollution level later fell to fourth, behind Ulaanbaatar in Mon-golia, Zagreb in Croatia, and Chiang Mai in Thailand.

Local researchers say that domestic heating and industry, including decades-old coal-fired power plants which provide most of

Serbia’s energy, emit almost three-quarters of the country’s polluting air particles.

In January, hundreds of protesters took to Belgrade’s streets demanding the government tackle severe air pol-lution throughout the European Union candidate country.

In a statement, Ne Davimo Beograd (Let’s Not Drown Belgrade), a local rights and environment watchdog, said that the main cause of the latest pollution could be a smoul-dering fire at the sprawling Vinca landfill, about 20 km (12 miles) east of the city centre.

Radomir Lazovic, one of the organisation’s leading activists, said that air pollution could aggravate the condition of people with pulmonary diseases, which are particularly sus-ceptible to coronavirus infection.

“According to estimates ... (by doctors), there are around 1 million of these people in Serbia,” Lazovic said.

In a statement, the ministry for environmental protection said that along with small heating plants and domestic heating, dust was the main contributor to most recent pollution.

“After melting of snow and drying of the surface (soil), a strong wind led to re-emission of the (dust) particles into ... the lower layers of atmos-phere,” the ministry said.

So far, the coronavirus infection in Serbia has sickened 528 and killed eight people.

Officials from Belgrade’s waste disposal company and city hall who are responsible for the landfill could not immediately be reached for comment.

EU members to launch talks with North Macedonia and AlbaniaAP — BRUSSELS

European Union leaders gave Albania and North Macedonia the greenlight to begin EU membership talks, ending a long series of setbacks and disappointments for the two Balkans nations’ quest to join.

No date was set for the start of the membership negotiations, which can take several years.

Albania and North Mace-donia were meant to begin accession talks last year, but French President Emmanuel Macron blocked the move and said he would continue to do so until the process for allowing countries into the 27-nation bloc had been reformed.

Macron did so despite warnings that further delays to the countries’ membership efforts could undermine stability in the volatile Balkans. North Macedonia’s leader reacted by stepping down and calling early parliamentary elections.

The European Commission later revised the accession process for North Macedonia and Albania to respond to Macron’s objections and other questions raised by the Netherlands.

Thousands of Ukrainianswaiting at Polandborder to get homeREUTERS — WARSAW

Thousands of Ukrainians queued in long lines yesterday at the last three border crossings with Poland that remain open to get to their homeland before Ukraine closes its borders due to the coronavirus pandemic.

“We are observing an exodus of Ukrainian citizens in recent days with 3,500 to 5,000 people leaving Poland via the Korczowa crossing a day,” said Major Elzbieta Pikor, a regional spokeswoman for the Polish border guard.

“The main reason why they are leaving is the pandemic. Many of them have been working in hotels, restaurants, but their jobs are being put on hold, so they are coming back

to their families, to their homeland,” Pikor said.

Around 3,500 people were lined up at the Korczowa crossing in southeastern Poland, 74km west of the Ukrainian city of Lviv, to get through the border to Ukraine.

Between one and two million Ukrainians are esti-mated to live or work in Poland. Many Ukrainian workers, who plug labour gaps in industries like construction and farming, enter Poland on temporary visas for a few months at a time and then return home.

Poland last week closed its borders to foreigners in an effort to curtail the spread of the coronavirus. On Friday night Ukraine is to close its borders too, so many Ukrainians are

trying to get home out of fear that the border barriers will be closed for good.

The last charter flights

carrying Ukrainians coming back from abroad landed home yesterday. But authorities in Kiev have said that all citizens

coming back from Poland who manage to get to the border will be allowed to cross it entering Ukraine also after Friday.

People queue to cross to Ukraine following planned border closing amid the outbreak of COVID-19 at the border crossing in Dorohusk, Poland, yesterday.

The briefings secure big live audiences. More than eight million people watch on average, rising at times above 12 million.

12 SATURDAY 28 MARCH 2020AMERICAS

In Haiti, virus crisis leaves cancer patients in limboAFP — PORT-AU-PRINCE

In early March, 31-year-old Melchior visited a doctor in his home country of Haiti, com-plaining of headaches.

He underwent an MRI, and got his diagnosis several days later: a tumor in the pituitary gland, at the base of his brain.

Melchior’s neurologists told him the surgery he needed could not be performed in the country, where the poorly funded health care system is ill-equipped to handle cancer patients.

But with flights out of Haiti suspended due to the corona-virus pandemic, it is not clear whether the surgery can be per-formed anywhere else either.

And the clock is ticking. Melchior is among the thou-sands of Haitian cancer patients who seek treatment abroad, and whose lives could now be at risk because of the crisis — but not the actual virus itself.

“I had paid for my tickets to Cuba but the night before I was supposed to leave, the president said they had to close the borders, close the airports due to the pandemic,” Melchior said in a telephone interview.

President Jovenel Moise indeed announced a halt to all air travel on March 19, after Haiti’s first two confirmed cases were reported. Many countries have curtailed travel in a bid to stop the spread of the deadly

virus, but there are of course some exceptions to the ban.

Melchior could present an official document from the hos-pital in Cuba, explaining that they plan to perform his oper-ation, in order to get special clearance to leave.

But when he contacted the hospital, the global nature of the health crisis threw a new obstacle in his path.

“They told me that they were closed. Cuba ordered them to shut down because their doctors had gone to Europe to help the countries hit by the pandemic,” he said, darkly laughing at the irony.

The world’s laser focus on COVID-19 — which has already

killed more than 21,000 people worldwide — has health care professionals in Haiti con-cerned. “Now everyone is paying attention to the corona-virus, even while other diseases are still very much present,” said Pascale Yola, who runs the country’s only pediatric oncology unit.

Even before the new travel constraints, receiving a cancer diagnosis in Haiti can be news that is just short of a death sen-tence. In a country where 35 percent of the population is under 15, the sole pediatric oncology center only has 17 beds.

“The survival of these children really depends on this epidemic now,” warned Yola.

Radiation therapy is not available in Haiti. Young people under Yola’s care who need such treatment are often sent to the neighboring Dominican Republic. “We have three children on the waiting list right now,” the doctor said.

“When they declared the first coronavirus cases in the Dominican Republic, we had to cancel these trips to ensure the children are not exposed to the virus. That could be fatal for them, just like for everyone else.” Even the treatments Yola can provide are on hold in many cases, as Haiti’s already low blood supply has taken a hit now that the virus is present in the country.

Surgeries have been

postponed for patients at her clinic, said Yola, but she warned the situation affected far more people with cancer.

“Adult patients who are cur-rently in Haiti cannot continue with their treatment. It’s a major problem,” she said. “The disease will progress and they will die.” Melchior and his loved ones have tried to bring his plight to the attention of Haitian author-ities, though his health has made even that effort difficult. And so far, he’s had no luck.

“I have had to go out nearly every day,” he said. “And that is all while the virus is spreading in Haiti. I have to protect myself, try to limit my outings.”

Customer leaves $10,000 tip, anonymously, in Florida restaurantAFP — MIAMI

A customer left a $10,000 tip to be divided among the employees of a Florida res-taurant, a day before it was forced to close because of the coronavirus outbreak, the owner said.

Ross Edlund, the owner of Skillets in Naples, Florida, said on the restaurant’s Facebook page on Thursday that the gesture shows there are still “truly fantastic people in the world”.

“We have an amazing Skillets family that extends to our guests as well,” Edlund said. “We couldn’t be happier to be a part of a community where this type of generosity exists.” Edlund told the local newspaper, the Naples Daily News, that the customer handed $10,000 in cash to the manager of the restaurant last week, a day before the state’s governor ordered the closure.

“We don’t know who he was yet,” he said. “I’m trying to figure it out. It’s funny because we have regulars who have been coming in forever, and they’re our friends but we don’t always know their names,” he said. “We know their faces, their orders, their favorite tables, but we don’t know exactly who they are.”

Edlund said the $10,000 was evenly split among the restaurant’s 20 employees with each receiving $500.

Edlund owns a total of 10 Skillets restaurants and he told the newspaper that he has had to lay off 90 percent of his 200 employees. Eight of his restau-rants are still operating.

‘Contagion’ movie stars tell fans coronavirus is ‘real life’REUTERS — LOS ANGELES

The stars of the movie “Con-tagion,” which has seen a surge in popularity as the coronavirus has spread across the globe, yesterday urged fans to listen to experts, wash their hands frequently and practice social distancing.

“That was a movie. This is real life,” said Matt Damon, who played someone who was immune to the virus featured in the 2011 film about a pan-demic. Damon, Kate Winslet, Laurence Fishburne, and Jen-nifer Ehle teamed up with sci-entists from the Columbia Uni-versity Mailman School of Public Health to release public service announcements on ways to contain the virus.

Rentals, sales and down-loads of “Contagion” have soared recently. On Friday, it was in 10th place on the iTunes movie charts for the United States. The thriller follows a mysterious deadly infection that spreads quickly around the world, causing a breakdown in society, and efforts by US scien-tists to find a cure.

Ehle, who in the movie played a scientist who helped discover a vaccine, urged people to heed the advice of scientists and medical experts “and that means tuning out the voices with other agendas, no matter how powerful they might be.”

Pandemic: Trump's briefings become mini election ralliesAFP — WASHINGTON

Forced by the coronavirus pan-demic to suspend reelection rallies, President Donald Trump has converted daily White House briefings on the crisis into mini campaign speeches, dominating the airwaves while his main rival sits quarantined in his basement.

In a nation paralysed by fear of the rampaging virus, the White House briefing room podium is the go-to place for primetime television viewers to catch their government’s latest response.

At least that’s the idea. But center stage is reserved for Trump and with a little over seven months to election day, the virus is not the only battle on the Republican’s mind.

Experts, like renowned infectious diseases doctor Anthony Fauci, line up behind the president. The unques-tioned star, though, is their showman-like boss.

Held at around 5:30 or 6pm in Washington, the briefings are hardly brief, clocking in at 90 minutes or more. First come the aides, quietly standing around an empty space at the lectern. Then, with the timing honed during a long reality television career, in strides Trump.

He reads dutifully from a lengthy prepared statement giving updates about what the government is doing. Next he introduces his subordinates, asking them one by one to say a

few words. Then with an “any questions?” the real show begins.

In his unique style, Trump riffs on everything from foreign policy to his personal achieve-ments, the “dishonest” media, and his own at times off-the-cuff medical opinions. The vibe is instantly recognizable to anyone who has watched the now moth-balled Make America Great Again rallies, just minus the cheering.

By the end, journalists in the room — their numbers slashed to respect social distancing, and dwindling further due to coro-navirus quarantines — are running out of questions. Trump, though, can barely tear himself away from the cameras. “I’ve gotten to like this room,” he said.

The briefings secure big live audiences. More than eight million people watch on average, rising at times above 12 million. The Trump show, as always, is a hit. Contrast that to the presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden. The former vice-president under Barack Obama was riding high just a few weeks ago with stunning defeats of his final primary rival, Bernie Sanders.

Then, just as he was set to pivot his campaign to taking on Trump, the coronavirus pan-demic struck. Like millions of other Americans, the 77-year-old Biden ended up trapped in his home. This week he has finally sought to bust out of isolation with a studio set up in his book-lined basement. But technical glitches and a campaign machine seemingly unable to shift gears quickly give Biden’s early efforts a surprisingly amateur look.

Hosting a virtual happy hour exchange with supporters by Zoom video link on Wednesday evening, Biden chatted fluently about foreign policy, the coronavirus and much else. Yet only about 2,000 people were watching.

Trump, meanwhile, was in full flow in the White House briefing room. Because Trump goes off topic so often and makes medical claims that his experts then have to walk back, some US media organizations are arguing for scaling down the live coverage.

The New York Times edi-torial board said it was “time to put an end” to the daily briefings. But White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham said the media, which had pushed for “press confer-ences all day, every day” was reneging on its duty. “Now they have them... many chose not to cover them. Odd response when you consider it is literally their job to report vital news of the day,” she tweeted.

Birth of baby tiger ‘Covid’ brings hope to Mexican zooREUTERS — MEXICO CITY

The rare birth of a baby tiger called “Covid” has brought a glimmer of hope to a private zoo in eastern Mexico even as normal life seizes up in the country to contain the deadly coronavirus that inspired his name.

Named by the family that owns the zoo as the global pan-demic intensified, Bengal tiger Covid was born on March 14 in a small zoo in the city of Cordoba that specializes in res-cuing animals from circuses and exotic private collections.

The tiger’s birth came as a surprise to everyone, said Kitzia Rodriguez, daughter of the zoo owner and a vet there.

“We didn’t know he was on the way,” Rodriguez said. “He’s going to have a big impact because the situation right now is difficult for everyone, even for us,” she said. “But I think the birth, in spite of the situation, will help us and gives us hope to carry on, so we can have vis-itors. Covid was a gift.”

The BioZoo in the state of Veracruz is still operating even as public life slowly winds down in Mexico, .

Covid was born to an 8-year-old tigress that had been in a circus and was nursed back to health after needing an operation for a hip fracture, said zoo owner Gonzalo Rodriguez.

Venezuela records first coronavirus deathAFP — CARACAS

Venezuela reported its first coronavirus death on Thursday after a 47-year-old man with a pre-existing lung disease died, the government said.

The man from the northern Aragua state had previously suffered from an “occupational disease in the lungs,” Vice-President Delcy Rodriguez said.

The patient had been admitted to a private clinic suf-fering from pneumonia and three days later tested positive for COVID-19, Rodriguez said.

The South American country has now reported 107 coronavirus cases.

It is under a total lockdown with businesses and schools closed and its borders closed to commercial flights, although

cargo arrivals are still allowed.The pandemic is causing

particular concern in Venezuela because its economy has collapsed.

Meanwhile a “special flight” organized by several European countries left Caracas with more than 360 passengers on board, including 139 Spaniards, 56 Italians, 44 Germans and 26 French nationals.

Cuba blasts US ‘lies’ over virus medical helpAFP — HAVANA

Cuba hit out at the United States on Thursday over a “campaign of discredit and lies” against the doctors it has sent around the world to help fight the coronavirus pandemic.

Following requests in recent weeks, communist Cuba has sent medical teams to Italy, Venezuela, Nicaragua, Grenada, Suriname, Jamaica and Belize.

The export of medical services is one of the pillars of the Cuban economy that has suffered almost six decades of crippling US sanctions, bringing in $6.3bn in 2018, according to official figures.

“The American govern-ment’s campaign of discredit is immoral in any circum-stances, and it’s particularly offensive for Cuba and the world in times of a pandemic that threatens all of us,” said the foreign ministry.

The US State Department is waging “a continuous and exacerbated campaign of dis-credit and lies against the inter-national medical cooperation supplied by Cuba,” the ministry said in a diplomatic protest statement.

“#Cuba offers its interna-tional medical missions to those afflicted with #COVID-19

only to make up the money it lost when countries stopped participating in the abusive program,” said the State Department on Twitter.

Cuba, which is world renown for its medical training program, has more than 30,000 doctors working in 61 countries.

However, following gov-ernmental swings from leftist allies to right-wing opponents, several countries — including Brazil, Bolivia, Ecuador and El Salvador — sent the doctors home to Cuba.

The State Department said the Cuban state, which pro-vides free education, “keeps most of the salary its doctors and nurses earn while serving in its international medical missions while exposing them to egregious labor conditions.” “Host countries seeking Cuba’s help for #COVID-19 should scrutinize agreements and end labor abuses.”

Cuba says it pays its medical professionals enough money to cover their expenses in their host country, on top of a salary of around $50 a month paid in Cuba. The rest of the money made from the program helps ensure health and edu-cation remain free for everyone on the Caribbean island nation, Havana says.

Covid, a Bengal tiger cub, named after COVID-19, is pictured at the zoo in Cordoba, Veracruz, Mexico.

Safety measuresA sign informing about coronavirus safety measures at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC.

The duration of the virus means there may be a need for social distancing measures for longer than initially expected, although the country may eventually be able to relax restrictions if it can more effectively test and quarantine the sick.

13SATURDAY 28 MARCH 2020 AMERICAS / CLASSIFIEDS

Coronavirus could leave over 81,000 dead in the US, subside in June: Data analysisREUTERS — WASHINGTON

The coronavirus pandemic could kill more than 81,000 people in the United States in the next four months and may not subside until June, according to a data analysis done by University of Wash-ington School of Medicine.

The number of hospitalized patients is expected to peak nationally by the second week of April, though the peak may come later in some states. Some people could continue to die of the virus as late as July, although deaths should be below epi-demic levels of 10 per day by June at the latest, according to the analysis.

The analysis, using data from governments, hospitals and other sources, predicts that the number of US deaths could vary widely, ranging from as

low as around 38,000 to as high as around 162,000.

The variance is due in part to disparate rates of the spread of the virus in different regions, which experts are still strug-gling to explain, said Dr. Chris-topher Murray, Director of the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington, who led the study.

The duration of the virus means there may be a need for social distancing measures for longer than initially expected, although the country may

eventually be able to relax restrictions if it can more effec-tively test and quarantine the sick, Murray said.

The analysis also highlights the strain that will be placed on hospitals. At the epidemic’s peak, sick patients could exceed the number of available hospital beds by 64,000 and could require the use of around 20,000 ventilators. Ventilators are already running short in hard-hit places like New York City.

The virus is spreading more

slowly in California, which could mean that peak cases there will come later in April and social distancing measures will need to be extended in the state for longer, Murray said.

Louisiana and Georgia are predicted to see high rates of contagion and could see a par-ticularly high burden on their local healthcare systems, he added. The analysis assumes close adherence to infection prevention measures imposed by federal, state and local governments.

“The trajectory of the pan-demic will change — and dra-matically for the worse — if people ease up on social dis-tancing or relax with other pre-cautions,” Murray said in a statement.

The analysis comes as con-firmed coronavirus cases in the United States continue to

mount, with the World Health Organization saying the country has the potential to become the world’s new epi-center of the virus.

The coronavirus causes a respiratory illness that in a minority of severe cases ravages the lungs and can lead to death.

The United States has reported around 83,000 cases of the virus and more than 900 deaths since January. Globally, it has infected more than half a million people, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

The University of Wash-ington has been at the center of the outbreak in United States, which first was detected in the state of Wash-ington and has so far killed 100 people in that state, according to date from Johns Hopkins University.

New York to build eight temporary hospitalsREUTERS & AFP — NEW YORK

New York plans to build eight temporary hospitals to meet an expected surge in coronavirus patients, Governor Andrew Cuomo said yesterday, and the state estimates that demand for hospital capacity will peak in three weeks.

Cuomo also took an apparent swipe at US President Donald Trump’s claim that New York was exaggerating its needs for resources to fight the out-break and did not really need the 30,000 ventilators it has sought from the federal government.

“Everybody’s entitled to their own opinion, but I don’t operate here on opinion,” the governor told reporters at a news conference. “I operate on facts and on data and on numbers and on projections.”

Cuomo, speaking against a backdrop of makeshift hospital beds at the Jacob K Javits Con-vention Center in Manhattan, also said schools should remain closed for another two weeks until April 15th.

The governor has become a leading national voice on the coronavirus pandemic as the state has accounted for roughly

one-third of the national death toll and half the known number of cases.

Cuomo said 44,635 people have tested positive in New York, up about 7,400 from Thursday, and that 519 New Yorkers have died from the virus, up from the previous day’s total of 385 deaths.

“We are battling a deadly virus,” Cuomo said. “It’s the worst news but it’s not unex-pected news either.”

Cuomo said the state was seeking to build another four temporary makeshift hospitals to add an additional 4,000 beds, which he called part of a plan B to try to make up for a shortage of medical resources. Cuomo said he was going to ask the White House to grant the request to build those addi-tional resources.

Cuomo reiterated the state’s goal to get to 140,000 hospital bed capacity from the current 53,000 available.

He said that hospitalizations are increasing at a rate at which they double every four days, compared with three days last week. He said he believed there was a correlation between social distancing measures and the improved rate.

In hospitals, staff are working extra shifts and searching desperately for more bed space. At the beginning of the COVID-19 crisis, patients were mostly elderly or sick, according to one respiratory therapist, who works in the New York City borough of Queens. “Now it’s 50-year-olds, 40-year-olds, 30-year-olds,” said the employee at the Jewish Medical Center. They “didn’t listen about not going out or protecting themselves and washing their hands,” he added.

“To watch somebody in their thirties die, it’s hard. You can’t have visitors. They’re in the room by themselves on a ventilator. It’s very depressing.”

“You have certain floors that will go COVID overnight,” said an administrative worker at the same hospital.

Officials have warned that the peak of the pandemic in New York is unlikely to occur for another two or three weeks, spelling more anxiety and stress for responders who are already at maximum capacity. “The next few months will be painful and stress our health care system like never before,” New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio tweeted on Thursday.

What is chloroquine and could it cure the pandemic?AFP — WASHINGTON

Could a pair of decades-old, rel-atively inexpensive drugs be the solution to the novel corona-virus pandemic? Around the world, countries are expanding access to hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) and chloroquine (CQ), related compounds that are synthetic forms of quinine, which comes from cinchona trees and has been used for cen-turies to treat malaria.

HQ which is the less toxic of the two, is also used as an anti-inflammatory to treat conditions like rheumatoid arthritis and lupus, purposes it is primarily known for outside the tropics.

The medicines have shown early promise against the COVID-19 illness in early studies

in France and China, which led US President Donald Trump this week to call them a “gift from God” — even as experts urge caution until bigger trials validate their effectiveness.

Here is what you need to know. China used CQ on a trial of 134 patients in February, finding it was effective in reducing the severity of the illness, according to officials.

But these results haven’t yet been published. Chinese respi-ratory expert Zhong Nanshan, who leads a government task force in response to the epi-demic, said in a press con-ference last week that the data would be widely shared soon.

In France, a team led by Didier Raoult of the IHU-Med-iterranee Infection, Marseille

reported last week they had carried out a study on 36 COVID-19 patients, finding that HCQ drastically reduced the viral load in a group which received the drug. The effects were especially pronounced when it was used with azithro-mycin, a common antibiotic used to sweep out secondary bacterial infections.

What’s more, HCQ and CQ drugs have been proven to act against the SARS-CoV-2 virus in lab settings, and a paper pub-lished by a Chinese team last week in Cell Discovery offered a potential mode of action.

Karine Le Roch, a professor of cell biology at the University of California, Riverside, explained that both HCQ and CQ are weak bases that elevate

the pH of parts of human cells called organelles — which are analogous to organs in animals — and which are normally acidic. This in turn interferes with the virus’ ability to enter the cells — and also seems to block them from replicating once they are already inside.

But, she added: “While it worked in vitro, I am still waiting to see published results of large blind clinical trials demonstrating the efficacy of HCQ in vivo,” she said.

Promise doesn’t mean proof, and the small studies carried out so far amount to “anecdotal” evidence, according to Anthony Fauci, head of infec-tious diseases at the US National Institutes of Health.

What’s more, a small Chinese

study on 30 patients that was also published this month found HCQ was no better than standard care — meaning treating the symptoms via bed rest, fluids and so on — adding a note of caution to the discourse.

The only way to know for sure is to carry out randomized clinical trials, scientists say. Such experiments are considered the gold standard in the field but last months or years and involve thousands of patients, often from around the world.

Patients are assigned at random to either receive the drug under investigation or a placebo, and the studies are “blinded” meaning the partici-pants and their doctors are unaware which group they are in, to further reduce bias.

Overhyping medicine can have several unintended effects, warn experts. “One of the unin-tended consequences are drug shortages of chloroquine, for people that need to manage their rheumatoid arthritis, for example,” Peter Pitts, a former commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration said.

French Health Minister Olivier Veran said the compounds can be used only to treat the most severe cases of COVID-19.

Another problem is that people may try to self-medicate. A US man from Arizona died this week after ingesting a form of chloroquine intended to fight aquatic parasites. Several countries have now embarked on clinical trials, including the US, where one began in New York this week.

Virus cases spike on US aircraft carrier: Report

AFP — WASHINGTON

The number of coronavirus cases on the USS Theodore Roosevelt aircraft carrier in the Pacific Ocean has spiked to at least 23, with authorities moving to isolate the entire crew in port, US media reported.

Earlier this week three sailors were evacuated after testing positive for the virus, the first cases reported on a US Navy ship on deployment.

“Additional positive cases of COVID-19 have been dis-covered”, Chief of Naval Oper-ations Admiral Mike Gilday said on Thursday, without specifying how many.

Gilday added he expected further positive tests among the more than 5,000 per-sonnel on board the warship, which is in Guam on a “pre-scheduled port visit”. None was seriously ill and none had been hospitalized, he said.

The USS Theodore Roo-sevelt was last in port in Vietnam, although Gilday said it was difficult to connect the cases to a particular port visit.

US naval hospital ship reaches Los Angeles

AFP — LOS ANGELES

A giant US naval hospital ship arrived here yesterday, where it will be used to ease the strain on the city’s coronavirus-swamped emergency rooms.

The USNS Mercy, which docked in the Port of Los Angeles, will quickly become the city’s largest hospital with 1,000 beds. It will not receive coronavirus patients, but will instead take patients with a wide range of other conditions or injuries, in order to free up facilities on land.

The ship will help “ease the burden on our emergency rooms and ICUs when the cases of COVID-19 grow in the weeks ahead,” tweeted Mayor Eric Garcetti yesterday.

It “will free up valuable beds that today are 80 percent or 90 percent filled already, to be able to deal with the onslaught of the COVID-19 patients that we see,” Garcetti said. The 894-foot USNS Mercy hospital ship, a converted oil tanker, has 15 patient wards and blood bank capacity of 5,000 units.

US egg prices hit record levelsREUTERS — WASHINGTON

Increased demand for eggs in the United States has sent egg prices soaring in recent weeks as consumers scramble to stock up on staples due to coronavirus shutdowns.

Wholesale prices of “Midwest large” eggs hit an all-time high of $3.09 a dozen on Thursday, triple their level in early March, before President Donald Trump declared a national emergency, according to the Urner Barry market reporting service that provides daily monitoring of commodity egg prices.

That could have big conse-quences for consumers given that eggs are an inexpensive form of protein — and a staple in some 93% of US households. Consumer prices have also increased, although not

quite as much as wholesale prices, experts said, since some grocery stores have not passed on the higher wholesale prices - at least for now.

Brian Moscoguiri, a director with Urner Barry, said the current spike in wholesale prices exceeded that seen in 2015 during the avian flu outbreak and was due to increased demand.

The wholesale price for the benchmark “Midwest large” eggs dropped as low as $0.78 in mid-January, reflecting a normal post-holiday slump, but rose to around $1.03 in February, where it stayed until early March, he said. But since then demand has surged as consumers filled their pantries and refrigerators to prepare for extended shutdowns in their communities as the United States races to contain the rapidly spreading new coronavirus.

Members of the Army National Guard walk through the Jacob K Javits Center, in New York yesterday. The New York National Guard, the US Army Corps of Engineers, and Javits employees are constructing a 1,000-bed facility at the center, as the state tries to contain the rising coronavirus cases.

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