Mask-wearing is not common in Australia and has not been part of the country’s COVID-19 response until recently MELBOURNE: Australia’s second-biggest city will make it compulsory to wear a mask in public, authorities announced Sunday (Jul 19), as Melbourne steps up efforts to bring a coronavirus outbreak under control. […]
Healthcare
SINGAPORE: Staycation packages with more perks and safety measures that are part of a “new normal” have been put in place by coronavirus-battered hotels in Singapore, after being given the green light to reopen their doors this month. Hotel operators that CNA reached out to say they have seen positive […]
LONDON: UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said he will only impose another nationwide COVID-19 lockdown as a last resort, comparing the tool to “a nuclear deterrent” in a Sunday (Jul 19) newspaper interview. Johnson, who is hoping Britain can return to “normality” by Christmas despite fears of a second […]
SAO PAULO: Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro said on Saturday (Jul 18) that lockdown measures used to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus “kill” and have “suffocated” the country’s economy. “Without salaries and jobs, people die,” he said referring to restrictions imposed by some states and municipalities. “Lockdown kills,” he […]
GENEVA: The World Health Organization reported a record increase in global coronavirus cases for the second day in a row, with the total rising by 259,848 in 24 hours. The biggest increases reported on Saturday (Jul 18) were from the United States, Brazil, India and South Africa, according to a […]
Funding organisations must invest more resources to overcome hurdles in developing antibody treatments for the coronavirus, say observers. BRUSSELS: As many countries progressively relax their COVID-19 containment measures, preventing a renewed spread of the coronavirus from emerging infection clusters will be key to controlling the pandemic. This will require the […]
DUBAI: President Hassan Rouhani said on Saturday (Jul 18) that some 25 million Iranians may have been infected with COVID-19, as Iran reimposed restrictions in the capital and elsewhere. The figure, from a report Rouhani cited in a televised speech, was far higher than Saturday’s official figure for infections of […]
PARIS: France will enforce mask-wearing in enclosed public spaces including banks, shops and indoor markets from Jul 20, Health Minister Olivier Veran said on Saturday (Jul 18), as part of efforts to curb a resurgence of COVID-19 across the country. The government has accelerated plans to make it compulsory to […]
SHANGHAI: Urumqi, the capital of China’s far western region of Xinjiang, said it has launched emergency response plan after the city reported 16 new coronavirus cases on Friday (Jul 17). The regional government said all recent new infections and asymptomatic cases reported in the autonomous region were in Urumqi, it […]
CHICAGO: Two of the world’s largest meatpackers said on Friday (Jul 17) they have installed ultraviolet air cleaning equipment in some US plants, as pressure mounts on food companies to protect workers amid growing concerns about airborne transmission of the coronavirus. JBS USA, owned by Brazil’s JBS SA and one […]