Tuesday 21 April 2020

28 Sha'aban - 1441

2 Riyals

www.thepeninsula.qa

Volume 25 | Number 8234

BUSINESS | 01 PENMAG | 06 SPORT | 12

Djokovic opposes

compulsory

coronavirus

vaccination

Classifieds

and Services

section

included

Oil futures

plunge below

zero for the

first time

HMC launches region’s first drive-through anticoagulation service at Al Wakrah Hospital

Visitors allowed to stay until flights resumeTHE PENINSULA — DOHA

The Ministry of Interior (MoI) has said that visitors in the country on tourist visas (on-arrival and priorly issued visas) can stay in the country without extending their visas or paying any fee, taking into account their inability to return to their home countries due to the closure of airports.

The Ministry said on its official Twitter account, “They can stay in the country without extending visa or paying any fee. Once the country declares that the conditions have returned to normal and flights start operation to their countries, they will be granted a grace period to leave the country,”

“It was in accordance with the Law No. 21 of 2015 regulating entry and exit of expatriates and their residence, the decision was taekn."

COVID-19: 567 new cases, 37 recoveries & a deathTHE PENINSULA — DOHA

The Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) has announced the registration of 567 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 and death of one person, yesterday.

Most of the new cases recorded are for expatriate workers who have been subject to quarantine after it was found that they were in contact with confirmed cases, while some new cases of infection are for citizens and residents who had

contact with positive COVID-19 cases within their families.

All new infected cases have been put under isolation and are receiving the necessary medical care, said the Ministry in a statement.

Also, with 37 new cases recovering, the total number of recovered cases of coronavirus in Qatar is 555, till yesterday.

The Ministry has stated that the new death was a 56-year-old resident who was suffering from a chronic disease, and died as a result of compli-cations due to being infected with COVID-19. The Ministry has extended condolences and sympathy to the family of the deceased.

The total number of positive COVID-19 cases recorded is 6,015 and there are 5,451 active cases under treatment, until yesterday. The Min-istry has conducted 2,082 tests yes-terday taking the total tests done so far to 64,620.

The MoPH has also stated that the marked increase in the number of con-firmed new cases of coronavirus is due to several reasons, including that the

spread of the virus has begun to enter the peak stage (i.e. the highest wave that affects the country), which may continue to increase for a period of time before it begins to decline.

It is also due to the steady increase in the efforts of the Ministry and its medical teams to track the transmission chains of coronavirus and expand the surveillance process, including of groups of contacts with people who were previously diagnosed with the disease.

All of this has contributed to the early detection of many cases of infection and reduced the spread of the virus. The Ministry has also requested all members of society to stay at home and cooperate fully with all health guidelines and adopt preventive measures to reduce the risk of infection, including sticking to social and physical distancing guidelines. The Ministry has also recommended that you regularly visit the MoPH website for the most up-to-date guidance on how to stay safe, including the guidelines related to the use of facemasks which was recently added on the site.

2,468,733

169,794 645,099

TOTAL POSITIVE

TOTAL DEATHS TOTAL RECOVERED

COVID-19 GLOBALLY

COVID-19 QATAR UPDATES ON APRIL 20, 2020

NEW CASES

ANNOUNCEDNEW

RECOVERIES

TOTAL

CASES

TOTAL

RECOVERIESTOTAL

DEATHS

567 37 6015

5559

QNA — DOHA

Amir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani chaired the first meeting of the Board of Directors of the Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy (SC) of 2020 via video conference yesterday morning.

Deputy Amir H H Sheikh Abdullah bin Hamad Al Thani; and H H Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al Thani, Personal Representative of H H the Amir and Vice-Chairman of the Board of Directors, participated. H E Sheikh Khalid bin Khalifa bin Abdulaziz Al Thani, Prime

Minister and Minister of Interior and Board member, and the other Board members, also attended the meeting. The meeting reviewed the operational plans for the 2022 FIFA World Cup Qatar as well as the latest updates related to the stadiums and projects in the country.

Amir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani during the first meeting of the Board of Directors of the Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy of 2020 via video conference, yesterday.

THE PENINSULA — DOHA

As part of ongoing efforts to stop the spread of COVID-19 and to better serve the community, Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) has launched what is thought to be the region’s first drive-through anticoagulation service at Al Wakrah Hospital.

The service, which started earlier this month, is designed to protect the country’s most vulnerable residents from exposure to COVID-19.

Dr. Sabah Adnan Al Qadhi, Medical Director of Al Wakrah Hospital, said elderly and people with pre-existing medical con-ditions, such as heart disease, are most at the risk of severe COVID-19 illness. He noted that most patients with blood-clotting disorders require anti-coagulation services and fall under both these categories.

“People using blot clot pre-vention medications require ongoing medical care.

Implementing a drive-up testing service, which allows patients to have their blood drawn without leaving their vehicle, is part of our ongoing efforts to keep vulnerable populations safe,” said Dr. Al Qadhi.

Dr. Ezzideen Hamza Sawali, Chair of Cardiology and Medical S u p e r v i s o r f o r t h e

Anticoagulation Clinic at Al Wakrah Hospital, said patients who take blot clot prevention medications, such as warfarin, require ongoing monitoring and management. He says these patients must have blood samples taken regularly to determine their international normalised ratio. �P2

A healthcare professional offering a resident a drive-through anticoagulation service as part of the efforts to prevent COVID-19.

Partial reopening of Industrial Area to begin tomorrow

THE PENINSULA — DOHA

The Assistant Foreign Minister and Spokesperson of the Supreme Committee for Crisis Management, H E Lolwah bint Rashid bin Mohammed Al Khater (pictured), has said Qatar has conducted more number of tests compared to those countries which are leading in the world in fighting coronavirus.

“For example, Hong Kong conducted 17,500 screenings per million people and Sin-gapore 16,000 screenings per million people, however, Qatar made 20,200 screenings per million people,” said H E Al Khater.

“I would like to assure you that the supply of food items and medical services will con-tinue to the residents of the Industrial Area,” said H E Al Khater in a press conference telecast on Qatar TV yesterday.

H E Al Khater said that the health system in Qatar is capable to cover the existing positive cases of coronavirus in the country and more; which is an important sign.

H E Lolwah bint Rashid bin Mohammed Al Khater said that the partial opening of closed part of the Industrial Area will begin tomorrow. The gradual opening will start with Streets No 1 and 2 and Al Wakalat Street.

“The work is under way to open the remaining parts of the area according to the medical information for the interests of people,” H E Lolwah Al Khater added.

She said that only 6,500

workers shifted from April 14 and 17 in preparations to open the closed part partially. “They were shifted to precautionary quarantine to screen for early detection for their safety and others in the area despite no symptom of infection appeared in them.”

She said that the authorities

concerned will intensify patrolling and inspection cam-paigns to catch the violators of the laws including law for banning gatherings, conditions for food safety and social dis-tancing at commercial outlets.

“We have entered the peak time of the outbreak of coro-navirus and most of the people have been following the pre-ventive and precautionary measures in the past which is laudable,” said H E Al Khater.

She said that it is necessary to continue these measures in place, the most important is not going out of the house except in case of extreme need, wearing face masks, gloves and using sanitizers and keeping social distance.

“We are going to welcome the holy month of Ramadan

which will have this year with another angle,” said H E Al Khater.

“This month is also known for generosity for the relatives and friends but not necessary to visit them putting their family members which include elderly people and children at risk of the epidemic,” said H E Al Khater.

About the recent rise in coronavirus infected cases, H E Lolwah Al Khater said that there were a number of reasons to understand the causes.

“Among these reasons is the increase in the medical tests and also proactive medical tests, and the discovery of a set of transitional chains.

Therefore, it is normal for us to find this rise.”

She also said that the first rise in March was due to the return of a number of Qataris to the country, then followed by stability and then another rise, linked to the discovery of a set of transitional chains resulting in the closure of part of the industrial area. “We have intensified medical tests in the area and some other areas.”

She said that many infected cases are from families due to visits between them, especially among Qataris.

H E Al Khater pointed out that the number of infected cases in the community is 26 percent and three weeks ago it was only 16 percent. “The cases among quarantined people is about 74 percent.” �P2

Qatar has conducted more number of tests compared to those countries which are leading in the world in fighting coronavirus.

Qatar is capable to cover the existing positive cases of coronavirus in the country and more; which is an important sign.

We have entered the peak time of the

outbreak of coronavirus and most of the people

have been following the preventive and

precautionary measures in the past which is

laudable.

Amir reviews 2022 plans at SC meeting

02 TUESDAY 21 APRIL 2020HOME

80 Qataris return from Morocco under State's

repatriation efforts THE PENINSULA — DOHA

Eighty Qatari citizens have been repatriated from Morocco through a chartered flight, as the country continues efforts to bring back citizens from abroad during the ongoing coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

The Assistant Foreign Min-ister and Spokesperson of the Supreme Committee for Crisis Management, H E Lolwah bint Rashid bin Mohammed Al Khater, has said the repatriated citizens have been transferred to the designated facilities.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has urged citizens, children of Qatari women, hus-bands and wives of Qataris and holders of permanent residency to approach the relevant embassies of the country (for evacuation), said Al Khater on Twitter yesterday, along with a Qatar TV footage of the arrival of Qatari citizens at the Hamad International Airport (HIA).

Earlier Qatar TV reported that a charter flight carrying 80 Qataris arrived from Morocco yesterday, as part of the efforts

of Qatar to bring back its cit-izens who want to return to the country.

This is the second evacu-ation operation, after arrivals of two flights from Jordon car-rying over 400 Qatari citizens and children of Qatari women.

A total of 80 citizens arrived at Hamad International Airport from Morocco which is the second country after Jordon from where the citizens were evacuated, said Turki Al Ghanam from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs while talking to Qatar TV. Al Ghanam said that citizens in other countries like Algeria and Tunisia will be evacuated in coming days.

After arrival at the airport, the citizens underwent screening and temperature tests, following the preventive measures of social distancing and before exiting the airport they signed acknowledgement letter to stay in quarantine at hotels for 14 days adhering to the health instructions.

The citizens were trans-ported from the airport to the hotels in buses ensuring all safety guidelines.

Criminal complaints can now be filed through Metrash2THE PENINSULA — DOHA

The Ministry of Interior has said that people can now file a criminal complaint to security departments through Metrash2.

“This new service launched by the Min-istry of Interior comes within the framework of its desire to reduce the time of communi-cation and simplify the procedures for the public in the light of the precautionary pro-tective measures against the corona pan-demic,” the Ministry said in a tweet yesterday.

To explain the new feature in the app, the Ministry published a step by step guide to file the complaint. After logging in to Metrash2, select ‘Communicate with us' option, then select Criminal Complaint (Security Department), then select the Security Department and the compliant type.

After that, the complainant has to specify the location and write a brief com-plaint, and attach a signed written copy of the complaint. (compulsory), and then submit the complaint.

To limit the spread of the coronavirus, the Ministry has urged people to use Metrash2 and the Ministry’s website

instead of visiting Ministry’ service centers.More than 40 e-services have been

added to Metrash2 application last year and work is underway to develop existing services and add more.

There are 625,000 subscribers on Metrash2. Around 9 million enquires were made through the service last year, com-pared to 3 million enquiries in 2013.

Region’s first drive-through

anticoagulation service

FROM PAGE 1

Dr. Ezzideen Hamza Sawali explains that the drive-up service has both reduced these patients’ actual risk of exposure to the COVID-19 virus and the stress many were feeling about the need to come into the hospital for testing.

“Many of our patients expressed concern about exposure to COVID-19, particularly when they were required to go to hospital for blood tests. Most of our patients are elderly and have comorbid conditions and are at a higher risk of severe illness if they do contract COVID-19, so limiting their potential exposure to this virus is extremely important. Patients who require routine lab monitoring and med-ication dose adjustments can now get those services from their vehicle, rather than going into the hospital,” said Dr. Sawali.

Dr. Sawali explained that patients are con-tacted a day in advance to confirm their appointment time. He said on the day of their appointment, a nurse wearing personal pro-tective equipment (PPE) will complete the necessary identification and medical screening processes before taking a sample of the patient’s blood, all from the window of their vehicle. Dr. Osama Abdelsamad, Clinical Pharmacy Specialist and Supervisor of the Anticoagulation Service for the Pharmacy Department at Al Wakra Hospital, says in most cases follow-up care is completed over the telephone, with the pharmacist communi-cating directly with the patient.

“Once the test results are returned, the pharmacist calls the patient to gather all nec-essary information and to confirm there are no changes to the patient’s condition and medications.

Partial reopening of closed parts of Industrial Area from tomorrowFROM PAGE 1

She also said that 90 percent of cases are with mild symptoms and only 1 percent patients have serious symptoms. “Cases of recovery are on the rise and not all deaths are linked to the virus but there are other diseases also (behind the deaths).” Cur-rently, she said, there are 72 people in intensive care, while 52 people have left intensive care units. “Also 89 percent of infected cases are male, while the percentage of females is 11 percent,” said Al Khater.

She further said that most

infected cases are between the ages of 25 to 34 years, which makes the risk of danger lesser, adding that the infected cases of over 64 age is only 2 percent. Regarding the recovery cases, she said that 80 percent of them are males, and 20 percent are females.

She said that people were asking that despite all pre-ventive and precautionary measures in place, why the number of positive cases is growing. “Positive cases of coronavirus are growing in Qatar because they are also growing in other countries of

the world,” said Al Khater.She said that if the

measures were not in place, number of positive cases would have been much higher than the number at present.

“So everyone should adhere to the preventive and precautionary measures taking the matter seriously,” said Al Khater.

“I noticed that most of the people focus on total number of confirmed cases of corona-virus since the reporting of first case on February 28 till now,” she said, adding,” But the important indicator is the

number of active cases which are under treatment excluding the cases of recovered (and death).” She said that so far, only nine people died due to coronavirus which is the least in the world and the region compared to the number of confirmed cases.

“The next indicator is severity of the cases as 90 percent cases are mild so it is matter of time, these cases will be recovered.”

“Another point is screening system, if we see the growing number of positive cases which is calculated by some people

in an unsystematic way,” said Al Khater.

She said that people used to ask that this much of screening were made and found high number of positive cases. “The figure is correct but the screening was conducted by specialist team of the Min-istry of Public Health on grounds of highly suspected cases not at random,” said Al Khater.

“So we cannot compare the figures of Qatar with number of positive cases of other coun-tries because they do not conduct early detection tests

as their screening is limited to those with the symptom of coronavirus heading to hos-pitals.” She said that 74 percent positive cases of coronavirus were detected from quarantine which means that these cases were contained in a place and not spreading virus in the community.

“This is also a good sign which should be considered. We are screening properly in the scientific way to get the accurate results not just meas-uring temperatures which could be detected in tens of thousands,” said Al Khater.

There are 625,000 subscribers on Metrash2. Around 9 million enquires were made through the service last year, compared to 3 million enquiries in 2013.

03TUESDAY 21 APRIL 2020 HOME

Up to 900GB of free data, 600 minutes for new Ooredoo 5G subscriptions via eShopTHE PENINSULA — DOHA

In line with its #StayHomeWith-Ooredoo campaign to promote public safety amid the ongoing COVID-19 situation, Qatar’s leading telecommunications operator has announced an exciting promotion for new Shahry 5G and Qatarna 5G customers subscribing via the Ooredoo eShop, helping them to still access great deals while staying safe at home.

New Shahry 5G and Qatarna 5G customers subscribing via the eShop will get twice the data and twice the international minutes for six months, so they can access all the benefits of the new plans without having to leave home.

New customers will get up to

900GB free data and up to 600 international minutes absolutely free, depending on the plan they choose, when they sign up for a new subscription via the eShop.

The new plans come loaded with fantastic entertainment including historical matches and sports documentaries with the beIN CONNECT app, Hollywood and Bollywood movies with

STARZ PLAY and ErosNow, and thousands of buy-one-get-one free offers at a wide range of dining options offering home delivery with the Urban Point app.

Sabah Rabia Al Kuwari, Director PR at Ooredoo, said: “We’re pleased to offer new cus-tomers this exciting promotion while we all #StayHomeWithOo-redoo. We’re proud to be helping our customers in this challenging time, and this offer means they will get excellent value for money and still access our products and services without having to leave the house.”

This promotion is only valid for new customers subscribing to a new Shahry 5G or Qatarna 5G pack, via the Ooredoo eShop.

New restrictions for walk-in patients to NCCCRTHE PENINSULA — DOHA

The Urgent Care Unit at the National Center for Cancer Care and Research (NCCCR) is no longer accepting walk-in patients for anything other than cancer-related conditions.

Cancer patients with non-cancer related urgent condi-tions should visit a Primary Health Care Corporation Urgent Care Clinic or one of Hamad

Medical Corporation (HMC)’s Emergency Departments, has said on its social media handles yesterday. According to HMC, this has been announced as part of changes made to the delivery of healthcare services across HMC to protect patients, vis-itors and the wider public from the spread of COVID-19.

“Patients within the NCCCR Urgent Care Unit are vulnerable and have suppressed immune

systems — these service changes have been made to ensure their risk of infection is kept to a minimum,” HMC has said.

Cancer patients with urgent needs can discuss their care with a physician, enquire about medication dispensing, and enquire about specific oncology and hematology care by calling HMC’s Urgent Consultation Service on 16000.

MADLSA, QC launch ‘Ramadan Gift’ initiative for elderly and families QNA — DOHA

The Ministry of Administrative Development, Labor and Social Affairs (MADLSA), in cooper-ation with Qatar Charity, has announced the launch of the ‘Ramadan Gift’ initiative, targeting 5,000 elderly people and families who benefit from social security in accordance with the Law No. 38 of 1995 regarding social security.

Under the initiative, Qatar Charity has contributed an amount of QR10m (QR2,000 for each beneficiary).

Assistant Undersecretary for Social Affairs at the MADLSA, Ghanem Mubarak Al Kuwari, said that this initiative is imple-mented annually in cooperation with Qatar Charity for the benefit of the elderly persons and families receiving social security on the occasion of the blessed month of Ramadan, adding that it comes within the framework of permanent coop-eration between the Ministry and Qatar Charity to contribute to providing the necessary needs for these families.

Al Kuwari stressed that, in light of the precautionary efforts taken by the country to curb the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19) epidemic, the MADLSA represented by the social affairs sector is working

on taking several measures that would help the citizens bene-fiting from social security, as the validity of the social security cards has been renewed and extended including more than 5,000 cards that were automat-ically renewed and extended until further notice without the need to consult the Ministry and its affiliated branches.

The Assistant Undersec-retary for Social Affairs added that the procedures for renewing rent allowance for cit-izens in the department of housing were extended until further notice without the need to visit the department, adding that the MADLSA has intensified its media awareness campaigns on the importance of using elec-tronic applications, including ‘Amerni’ app to take advantage of its available services, while stressing that the MADLSA’s social affairs sector receives all communications via the hotline to respond to all inquiries and requests and address them quickly.

Qatar Airways helps AS Roma raise funds for COVID-19 efforts SACHIN KUMAR THE PENINSULA

Qatar Airways has helped Italian football club AS Roma to raise €100,000 in an initi-ative launched to help people affected by COVID-19 in Italy.

The Italian football club had recently launched ‘Assieme’ (means together) ini-tiative, under which special edition shirts were sold to the fans.

“Qatar Airways worked with AS Roma to replace our branding on their shirts with Assieme, meaning ‘Together’, in an initiative which has raised almost €100,000,” said Qatar Airways in a tweet yesterday.

“A total of 500 special edition shirts were sold by the Serie A Club. The funds will be donated to the Roma Cares Foundation for the fight against COVID-19,” said the airline.

Recognising the important role of Qatar Airways in the fight against COVID-19, the football club thanked the airline. “Thank you @qatarai-rways for supporting this important initiative,” said the football club on its official twitter account, yesterday.

The proceeds from the ini-tiative will support the projects of Roma Cares, dedicated to the needy people in the Italian capital, hit by the COVID-19 outbreak.

Founded in 1927, AS Roma

is one of the biggest and most well-known football clubs in the world. In April 2018, Qatar Airways had signed a multi-year partnership agreement with Italian football club AS Roma, further strengthening the award-winning airline’s commitment to Italy. The agreement, the largest ever signed by the club, saw Qatar Airways becoming AS Roma’s Main Global Partner, with the airline’s logo to adorn the team’s shirts through the 2020-21 season.

Qatar Airways is playing important role in helping people in the fight against COVID-19. Qatar Airways Cargo has increased services around the world, operating freighters and freight-only passenger aircraft to ensure the continuity of global trade and transportation of essential supplies to where they are needed during this critical

time. In March, the airline has transported over 50,000 tonnes of medical and aid sup-plies to impacted regions around the globe. This equates to roughly 500 fully loaded Boeing 777 freighters.

In February the airline supported China by donating and flying 300 tonnes of medical supplies to in five cargo aircraft to Beijing,

Shanghai and Guangzhou. It also flew six tonnes of medical supplies free of charge to the Islamic Republic of Iran, which were donated by the State of Qatar, in March. Qatar Airways Cargo has offered to fly any medical supplies to China and Iran free of charge, to continue to support the coronavirus relief efforts of these countries.

AS Roma’s special edition shirts launched under 'Assieme' initiative.

MADLSA hotline receives 11,419 calls in a monthQNA — DOHA

The Ministry of Administrative Development, Labor and Social Affairs (MADLSA) said that it had received 11,419 calls via the hotline service during the period from March 15 to April 18, including 1,893 calls from employers and 9,526 calls from workers.

The Ministry also received worker complaints through SMS, the Amerni application and e-mail, of which 481 e-mails were settled, 367 complaints and 114 were still in progress. The number of SMSs reached 2269; 2,143 text message were settled and 126 were in progress.

The Ministry reported the completion of online transactions through the application of the 644 trans-actions, of which 409 were settled, and 245 are still in progress.

The Ministry of Administrative Development, Labor and Social Affairs (MADLSA) is keen on completing various transactions as quickly as possible, especially online transactions through the Ministry’s communi-cation platforms and the Amerni application. It also receives reports of violations of workers housing requirements on the hotline 40280660.

Qatar Airways is playing important role in helping people in the fight against COVID-19. Qatar Airways Cargo has increased services around the world, operating freighters and freight-only passenger aircraft to ensure the continuity of global trade and transportation of essential supplies to where they are needed during this critical time.

Sale of local farm products to continue in Ramadan: MMEQNA — DOHA

The Ministry of Municipality and Environment (MME) announced yesterday that work will continue in yards selling local agricultural products in Al Mazroua, Al Khor, Al Dhakhira, Al Wakrah, Al Shamal and Al Shehaniya every day during the holy month of Ramadan.

In that context, the Min-istry also announced that work will continue for selling fish in the sub-ports markets in Al Wakrah, Al Ruwais, Al Khor and Al Dhakhira for con-tractors and individuals daily during the holy month.

The ministry said work would take place from 7:30pm to midnight. The ministry stressed that all precautions were taken in light of the pre-cautionary measures against the spread of coronavirus in terms of sterilization, spraying, general hygiene and use of masks by farm owners and workers.

11 firms found

violating safety

guidelinesQNA — DOHA

The Ministry of Administrative Development, Labor and Social Affairs (MADLSA) has recorded violations by 11 companies operating in various sectors, such as trade, contracting, agricultural, irri-gation, electrical and mechanical services, technical services, transportation, supplies, and facilities management at a residential location in the Al Kharra area.

The Ministry said that the companies were not adhering to the precautionary measures, which is to reduce the popu-lation density of workers' housing and provide safe dis-tances between workers when boarding or getting off the buses, and accordingly they were referred to the security authorities to take the nec-essary action.

This came in the context of the inspection campaigns carried out by labor inspectors of the Ministry to ensure com-panies adhere to the necessary precautions.

This promotion is only valid for new customers subscribing to a new Shahry 5G or Qatarna 5G pack, via the Ooredoo eShop.

Qatar Charity has contributed an amount of QR10m (QR2,000 for each beneficiary).

04 TUESDAY 21 APRIL 2020HOME

Doha Municipality intensifies

inspection ahead of Ramadan

THE PENINSULA — DOHA

The Health Monitoring Unit at Doha Municipality has intensified food outlets inspection efforts to ensure they are complying with health rules ahead of the holy month of Ramadan.

During the campaign, the municipal inspectors recorded six violations of the provisions of the Law No. 8 of 1990 for regulating foods, said the Ministry of Municipality and Environment in a release.

As much as 437 inspection visits were made. All meat and fish shops were inspected to ensure the compliance health rules and preventive and precautionary measures are in place.

Meanwhile, the inspector of general monitoring section at Doha Municipality put violation stickers on 63 abandoned vehicles from April 5 to 9. As much as 32 abandoned vehicles were removed in coordination with the authorities concerned.

The section received 16 complaints against which were responded on time.

QRCS to provide QR34m medical aid for 10 countriesTHE PENINSULA — DOHA

Qatar Red Crescent Society (QRCS) has launched a QR34m fundraising campaign to support the global coronavirus control efforts. It will target over 5 million beneficiaries in 10 poor countries.

The new drive comes in response to the appeal issued by the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) to raise funds to combat the coronavirus pan-demic, especially in poor coun-tries which lack resources to withstand its consequences. Qatar is a major humanitarian donor for all friendly countries around the world.

Ali bin Hassan Al Hammadi, Secretary-General of QRCS, said, “Humanitarian action is partic-ularly important in disaster zones. In the face of an emer-gency that affects almost every country in the world, QRCS is one of the first responders. With its preparedness strategy, it is well in place to deal with any crisis immediately”.

He emphasised that this ini-tiative to stand by humanity is not something new. It is a deep-rooted tradition of QRCS since its establishment in 1978, inspired by the Qatari culture and values. “Our representation missions in 22 countries are coordinating with the host National Societies on capacity-building and preventive measures,” he stated.

Under the campaign, a slew of projects will be implemented

in several countries. In Ethiopia, integrated

health education programs to promote knowledge of the nature and prevention of coro-navirus disease will be launched. Other measures such as training for volunteers, and distribution of health protection kits, each containing a full garment (gloves, head covers, goggles, face shields, and rubber boots) for the benefit of 42,000 persons in Addis Ababa and Oromia will be taken.

In Afghanistan, PPE (masks, gloves, coveralls, sanitizers and disinfectants, and digital ther-mometers) to serve 140 health facilities and 1,000 families of coronavirus patients will be provided. Training and edu-cation for 280 health profes-sionals and 500 volunteers and education for 100,000 society members, and enhancement of quarantine services for positive and sus-picious cases in several prov-inces will be provided.

Similar steps will be taken in Sudan, Somalia, Mali, Iraq, Yemen, Bangladesh, Syria and Palestine. Individuals can donate via QRCS website (www.qrcs.org.qa); donor service number (66666364); home donation col-lection number (66644822); bank transfer with QIIB (IBAN:QA66QIIB0000000 01111126666003); QRCS head-quarters in Corniche; Training and Development Center in Umm Al-Seneem; or QRCS’s donation collection agents at Al-Meera, LuLu, and Carrefour.

QRCS officials during a COVID-19 prevention campaign in northern Syria.

Qatar chairs extraordinary meeting of ARABOSAI Executive Council

QNA — DOHA

The extraordinary meeting of the Executive Council of the Arab Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions (ARABOSAI) was held yesterday via video conference, chaired by President of the State Audit Bureau and Chairman of the Executive Council of the Organization,

H E Sheikh Bandar bin Mohammed bin Saoud Al Thani.

The meeting was convened to discuss the repercussions of the spread of the coronavirus on the work of the organization and ways to ensure the continuity of its activity and to propose an action plan to enhance the capa-bilities of the member institu-tions in dealing with the crisis.

H E Sheikh Bandar bin

Mohammed bin Saoud Al Thani stressed in the meeting, which was attended by heads of the audit institutions that are members of the Executive Council, that the crisis of the coronavirus outbreak is unprec-edented in the history of mankind in terms of its extent and impact, and that ARABOSAI and other organizations are not immune to the crisis

repercussions.He pointed out that the call

for the organization’s executive board to convene in an extraor-dinary session comes within the framework of seeking to sur-round the effects of the crisis on the organization’s activity and to develop perceptions that would ensure the organization’s continuation of its activities in order to enhance the capabil-ities of the Arab institutions and improve their performance.

The council also discussed a number of proposals related to enhancing the contribution of the supreme audit agencies in dealing with the repercussions of the current crisis and the role of the Arab organization in sup-porting it through adopted plans and programs.

The meeting concluded with an invitation to the organiza-tion’s structures from com-mittees and the general secre-tariat to study the implications of the current situation on the organization’s performance and prepare an exceptional plan in the activities that are proposed to support the member institu-tions in their response to this epidemic.

Woqod opens Umm Al Juwashen petrol stationTHE PENINSULA — DOHA

Qatar Fuel (Woqod) opened Umm Al Juwashen petrol station on Al Majd Road yesterday, raising its network of petrol stations to 104.

Woqod’s Managing Director and CEO, Saad Rashid Al Muhannadi, said: “We are pleased to open a new petrol station in Umm Al Juwashen, Al Majd Road. Woqod aspires to expand its petrol station network in the country to meet the rising demand for petroleum products and achieve the goal of providing customers with access to best-in-class products and services at their convenience and comfort. Woqod team would like to extend their gratitude to all concerned govern-mental and private entities that contributed to the com-pletion of this project.”

New Umm Al Juwashen petrol station is spread over an area of 40,000 square meters and has four lanes with eight dispensers for light vehicles, and three lanes with six dispensers for heavy vehicles, which will serve Umm Al Juwashen area, Al Majd Road and its neighbourhood.

Umm Al Juwashen

petrol station offers round-the-clock services to resi-dents, and includes Sidra convenience store, manual car wash, oil change and tire repair, for light and heavy vehicles and sale of LPG cylinders “Shafaf”, in addition to sale of gasoline and diesel products for light vehicles and Heavy Vehicles.

A view of the newly-opened Umm Al Juwashen petrol station.

UREP success for WCM-Q student researchers and faculty mentorsTHE PENINSULA — DOHA

Researchers at Weill Cornell Medicine-Qatar (WCM-Q) won first place in the 12th annual Undergraduate Research Experience Program (UREP), run by Qatar National Research Fund (QNRF).

The project, titled “Role of the Human Gut Microbiota in Autism Spectrum Disorders and Inflammatory Bowel Dis-eases” was led by Dr. Ghizlane Bendriss, lecturer in biology. Her research team, comprised of two other faculty mentors and six students, was awarded first prize in recognition of the important achievements and outcomes of this project. WCM-Q is a member of Qatar Foundation.

Working alongside Dr. Bendriss on the project were fellow faculty members Dr. Dalia Zakaria, also a lecturer in biology in the WCM-Q pre-medical curriculum, and Dr. Noha Yousri, assistant pro-fessor of research in genetic medicine, plus students Dana Al-Ali, Ameena Shafiq, Nada Mhaimeed, Mohammed Salameh, Zain Burney, and Krishnadev Pillai.

In this year’s UREP contest, 14 projects were selected for the final round out of an

original pool of 46 projects produced by research teams at universities across Qatar.

Students from each of the 14 shortlisted teams then pre-sented their projects and the judging panel awarded prizes to the top three.

Students Dana Al Ali and Ameena Shafiq were tasked with presenting the WCM-Q project to the panel of judges, a process which this year took place via videoconference

because of the physical dis-tancing rules in place to limit the spread of the coronavirus. Second place in this year’s contest was won by Texas A&M University at Qatar, and third place by Qatar University.

Dana Al Ali, a third-year medical student, said: “We have been working on this project for about three years now and for it to compete and win was very surreal. Our

project was one of the first studies to look into gut

microbiota in Qatar, which made its results unique and new to Qatar. Of course, this project would have not reached its full potential without the support of QNRF, our mentors, especially Dr. Ghizlane, and my fellow team members, who worked tire-lessly on this project.”

Dr. Khaled Machaca, senior associate dean for research, innovation & commerciali-zation at WCM-Q, said: “I offer my warmest congratulations to the winners for this extraor-dinary achievement. This achievement highlights the superb caliber of our students and faculty, and it is especially g r a t i f y i n g during these extraordinary times as it demonstrates

their outstanding commitment to research. We are very grateful to QNRF for their con-tinued support of the UREP program and for running this inspiring contest, which does so much to fuel the enthusiasm and ambition of young researchers at institutions all over Qatar.”

The UREP contest is designed to promote research-based education and hands-on learning, helping students gain experience of team-based research and collaboration with faculty, postdoctoral fellows, graduate students, and other undergraduates or research staff in Qatar.

H E Sheikh Bandar bin Mohammed bin Saoud Al Thani, President of the State Audit Bureau and Chairman of the Executive Council of ARABOSAI, chairing the meeting via video conference.

The meeting was convened to discuss the repercussions of the spread of the coronavirus on the work of the organization and ways to ensure the continuity of its activity and to propose an action plan to enhance the capabilities of the member institutions in dealing with the crisis.

WCM-Q students who were part of the winning research team in QNRF’s UREP competition. CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: Dana Al Ali, Zain Burney, Nada Mhaimeed, Ameena Shafiq, Mohammed Salameh and Krishnadev Pillai.

MoCI recalls Mercedes-Benz AMG GT model of 2018THE PENINSULA — DOHA

The Ministry of Commerce and Industry (MoCI), in cooperation with Nasser Bin Khaled Auto-mobiles, dealer of Mercedes-Benz in Qatar, announced the recall of Mercedes-Benz AMG GT model of 2018 over the clip on the wiring harness for the automatic transmission may

not be attached in accordance to manufacturer specification.

The recall campaign comes within the framework of the Ministry’s continuous efforts to protect consumers and ensure that dealers follow up on vehicle defects and repairs.

The Ministry said that it will coordinate with the dealer to follow up on the maintenance

and repair works and will com-municate with customers to ensure that they carried out the necessary repairs.

The Ministry urged all cus-tomers to report any violations to its Consumer Protection and Anti-Commercial Fraud Department, which processes complaints, inquires and suggestions.

Dr. Ghizlane Bendriss, lecturer in biology, led the research team that won QNRF’s UREP contest.

05TUESDAY 21 APRIL 2020 HOME

Sustainable system for remote working needed amid COVID-19RAYNALD C RIVERA THE PENINSULA

As companies in both private and public sectors in Qatar have turned to remote working as a means of social distancing to prevent the spread of COVID-19 pandemic, there is a need to design a sustainable system for remote working.

As experts foresee the pan-demic won’t end anytime soon, working remotely has become the new norm around the world including Qatar and thus a long-term, efficient system is needed.

“Many organisations in Doha are currently working remotely. Some of them are adapting better than others based on their previous expe-rience. Working remotely has a lot of components and it needs to be studied and properly translated into a sustainable system that can go into the long

term,” Maryam Al Sumait, co-founder of design service agency Makery, has said.

Al Sumait was speaking at an online coaching session on Saturday evening which was hosted by Qatari fashion designer Fahad Al Obaidly and was part of a series organised by M7, a creative startups hub dedicated to innovation and entrepreneurship established by Qatar Museums for the nation’s growing fashion and design industry.

The pandemic has com-pelled organisations to shift to the digital platform as means of conducting business and reaching out to consumers.

“I think it’s teaching us a lot on how to work with different circumstances because some-times you’re limited with a certain time or to a certain location that it’s more convenient to do it remotely, but I think

human interaction is vital, however that doesn’t mean that we cannot completely operate remotely. The crisis has forced us to work in this type of style but this has to be more sustainable on the long term,” she said.

Combining business and design, Makery, a service design agency which Al Sumait had co-founded, provides design

thinking and service design workshops, branding service, and service design consultancy which are human-centric.

“One of our core values is to emphasize on the human element and human interaction

but that’s physically impossible right now so we try our best to do this through meetings with our clients on different plat-forms and trying different things. The attitude of being flexible really helps us during this crisis,” she said.

Asked on how to emo-tionally engage with the viewer in a digital platform that might need a physical experience as in live versus digital fashion shows, she said: “Some people say that we are living in a digital world, and we need to under-stand how we work digitally. The digital tools that we have increase efficiency but do not replace human interaction. There are many things that can be done to help engage people emotionally like virtual reality and many other different tools. Experience can be digital but being in a place and experi-encing something cannot be

replaced, though it can be complemented.”

“Digital experience does have an emotional impact but the expe-rience of going to the movies or watching a live musical is some-thing that cannot be replaced by technology,” she added.

“I think we are in an era where we are trying to strike the right balance between human and digital interaction,” she said.

The biweekly online coaching sessions which M7 started last week are aimed to guide and encourage aspiring designers. They are held every Thursday and Saturday at 6pm on the M7 Instagram account, @M7.qatar.

This coming Thursday, Oleg Fazulyanow, CEO of Fashion Consulting Group Milan, will talk about the business of fashion and how designers can test if their products will work in a target market.

Maryam Al Sumait, co-founder of design service agency Makery.

As experts foresee the pandemic won’t end anytime soon, working remotely has become the new norm around the world including Qatar and thus a long-term, efficient system is needed.

Katara to launch Ramadan competitions and exhibitions via social mediaTHE PENINSULA — DOHA

The Cultural Village Foundation Katara has announced it is preparing to launch online competitions and virtual exhi-bitions via social media during the holy month of Ramadan.

The online competitions will cover religious, cultural and heritage aspects while the virtual exhibitions will feature a group of fine-art artists, Katara said yesterday.

These online events come within the activities of Katara during the holy month of Ramadan and in the framework of the precautionary and pre-ventive measures taken by Katara in the fight against the coronavirus.

Catered to various social and age groups, the competi-tions include memorizing the Holy Qur’an and prophetic sayings, in addition to compe-titions related to culture, her-itage, short story and media.

Katara competitions during

Ramadan are characterized by the diversity of subjects and the richness of content.

They include the Quran competition of “Juz’u Amma” for Children from 6 to 13 years old which includes memorizing and reciting, as well as the “Katara Prophetic Hadiths” competition for girls and boys from 10 and 18, in which the participants are required to memorize the book of Al-Nawawi’s Forty Hadith.

Katara will also launch competitions in culture, her-itage, and media, such as The Katara Fluent Media Anchor on TV and radio for girls and boys from the age of 12 to 22 years. Participants are required to read a text provided by Katara, and send the audio or video recording on WhatsApp, with the information of the partic-ipant and a copy of his ID. Top three winners will be sele

cted from each of these competitions to receive QR13000; QR10,000 and

QR8,000 respectively. Another competition is the

Qatari Heritage contest in which Katara will post a daily question on Katara’s social media plat-forms related to old Qatari words, in addition to the short story competition inspired by the life of the Prophet Mohamed (peace be upon him).

The story should be for children, and the number of the words must be between 100 and 120 words. The Katara Galleries competition includes a daily question about one of the pre vious Katara exhibitions.

Qatar TV will broadcast during Ramadan the second part of the animated series “Tamor & Tamora” produced by Katara, and which won the award at the 20th session of the Arab Radio and Television Fes-tival held in the Tunisian capital in June last year in the children’s programs category.

This animation series aims to spread awareness among

children, in addition to connect the current generation with the inherited Qatari culture and heritage. The animated series is also the first artwork of Katara Publishing House, supervised by Khalid Abdul Rahim Sayed.

Katara is also preparing to launch virtual exhibitions of fine-art artists such as “Al Tayebeen” by Qatari artist Ali Dasmal Al-Kuwari, “Patches” by Syrian artist Hadi Qasous, “A Mirage You Cannot Reach” by Masoud Al Balushi, and “The Result” by Qatari artist Fatima Al-Naimi.

Registration for the The Quran competition for kids “Juz’u Amma”, the “Katara Prophetic Hadith” Compe-tition, the Short Story Com-petition and The Katara Fluent Media Anchor compe-tition will be from 1 Ramadan to 10 Ramadan, and commu-nication with the participants will be by phone or Zoom program.

The online events come within the activities of Katara during the holy month of Ramadan and in the framework of the precautionary and preventive measures taken by Katara in the fight against the coronavirus.

06 TUESDAY 21 APRIL 2020HOME

VCUarts Qatar to offer free 'Virtual Studios'THE PENINSULA — DOHA

Virginia Commonwealth University School of the Arts in Qatar (VCUarts Qatar), a Qatar Foundation partner university, will begin offering a range of free and exciting art and design classes from April 22 to May 20.

Titled, “Virtual Studios’, the programme has been launched to support the VCUarts Qatar community, and one of the courses, “Art in Support of our Heroes”, will cater to all those who are bravely and selflessly working for the safety of all of Qatar’s citizens, such as medical and hospital staff. The “Heroes” class, which will last one hour, will be taught by Sara Powell, a VCUarts Qatar alumna and Art Psychotherapist who has vast experience of supporting trauma. Though the class is designed for frontline responders, it is open to anyone who would benefit from it. No previous art-making expe-rience is needed, and only simple materials, such as a pencil or paper, or other basic

art materials are required. Powell will also be teaching

“Art & Collective Conversations in Crisis.” Participants will be invited to join a creative space where they will engage in art-making, consider their emo-tional wellbeing, and how they are managing and mitigating the impact of the pandemic while reflecting on transitioning with a lack of connectivity and uncertainty, and while addressing issues such as fear and anxiety. “Art & Collective Conversations in Crisis” will provide an avenue and oppor-tunity for the participants to interact, ask questions, and col-lectively support each other.

Other classes being offered by the “Virtual Studios” program will include “2D Ani-mation for Kids”, which will be taught by VCUarts Qatar Graphic Design alumna Ebtesam M. Al-Hothi. Children will learn creative techniques of shading using dotting, collage, and push and pull ink. The art pieces created by the students will be combined and used to produce 2D stop motion animation clips. These artworks will be created using basic sta-tionery, and everyday household resources.

In “Set up your Creative Home Office”, VCUarts Qatar Interior Design alumna Asma

Ul Hosna’s class will focus on realistic, fun and quick ideas to set up a home office, while “Design Thinking in Design and Entrepreneurship” by interdisciplinary designer, entrepreneur and VCUarts Qatar Fashion Design pro-fessor Yang Soon Ju will show how design thinking can support self-expression and creativity more innovatively in the area of design and entrepreneurship.

In the class titled, “Encour-aging your Child’s Creativity at Home” participants will explore art ideas, exercises, and the benefits of providing creative and exploratory opportunities for children of all ages at home. Using only basic stationery, kitchen resources and things from around the home, the instructor, Bridget Dunn will guide the students in how to make an exciting drawing, collage, sculpture, and painting and printing.

Can register for the classes via https://qatar.vcu.edu./com-munity/online-education.

"Art & Collective Conversations in Crisis” will provide an avenue of opportunity for participants to interact, ask questions, and collectively support each other. BELOW: A 2D animation for kids

People with diabetes advised to be extra vigilant against COVID-19 THE PENINSULA — DOHA

People with diabetes, as all those with chronic diseases, have less immunity than healthy people. When blood sugar is high, the cells that get infection do not function to clear the infection allowing the infection to progress more quickly and severely.

People living with diabetes must take extra precautions and preventive measures to protect themselves from COVID-19 infection and to stay safe, according to the Ministry of Public Health (MoPH).

With more than 17 percent of adults in Qatar, MoPH has issued guidance for people living with type 1 diabetes. The guidance has been issued for the people of Qatar living with type 1 diabetes and their families.

For people living with diabetes to boost their immune system, the Ministry advises to maintain blood sugar readings at the target range agreed with your healthcare profes-sionals (generally fasting blood sugar of 80-130mg/dl and post prandial sugar 180mg/dl). The sugar targets depend on several factors including age and duration of diabetes.

The Ministry has also asked people with diabetes to remain well hydrated by drinking plenty of water, have a balanced diet, con-sisting of 3 meals and snacks as indicated by the healthcare professionals, ensure to have taken all required annual vaccinations such as pneumococcus and maintain regular physical activity even if staying at home.

In advice to protective measures should

people living with type 1 diabetes take, the Ministry says to firstly, look after health and diabetes.

“Follow the instructions of MoPH by practicing social distancing, staying at home, avoiding crowds, parks and refraining from touching one another or surfaces; Always use a face mask and protective gloves when visiting public areas (ie grocery shopping or attending an appointment), at work and even at home when there is a family gath-ering. Personal hygiene is extremely important for people with diabetes at this time of the virus outbreak. Wash your hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. If soap and water are not available, clean your hands with an alcohol-based solution

(60%) or sanitizer,” say the guidelines. “People with diabetes are prone to skin

dehydration, so a hand cream prescribed by your physician can be used at night to prevent dryness caused by consistent use of sanitizer; prepare a list of your medica-tions and the dosages in case of an emer-gency; get adequate amount of medications, sufficient for at least two weeks and sup-plies for monitoring blood glucose at home; have a supply to test your blood sugar and ketones and have the contact information of your health care provider at hand so that you do not need to leave the house if you become ill,” it added.

If people living with type 1 diabetes do get the virus and show symptoms such as coughing, fever or shortness of breath they may need assessment by a healthcare pro-fessional. Start self-quarantine, avoid any contact with others and call the national COVID-19 hotline on 16000;

The Ministry has also advised people with diabetes to not stop diabetes medications.

“In fact, you are likely to need more insulin than usual when you are sick. Speak to your diabetes team through the Diabetes Hotline 16099 (select option 4). The service is available seven days a week from 7am to 10pm),” it has said.

The Ministry also emphasised the impor-tance of following healthcare professional team recommendations for patients with dia-betes. For more information on COVID-19 Call: 16000, or visit: www.moph.gov.qa

QRCS expands COVID-19 fundraising campaign THE PENINSULA — DOHA

Inspired by its national respon-sibility, Qatar Red Crescent Society (QRCS) has launched the 2nd phase of its fundraising campaign to combat corona-virus.

As the risks persist, QRCS decided to expand its campaign, with a new target of QR30m. With these funds, QRCS will be able to step up the response efforts, by securing the supplies needed for medical and vol-untary personnel, as well as helping the vulnerable groups affected by the markets closure.

Ali bin Hassan Al Hammadi, Secretary-General of QRCS, stated, “Recently, there has been a dramatic increase in demand for protective supplies in order to enable the crisis management personnel to do their job. The physicians and nurses working at quarantine facilities are facing a deadly challenge for the sake of their medical ethics. For us the nationals and residents of Qatar, we have to gratefully give them protection against infection. Actually, they are an inherent part of the human resources that the country relies on at such difficult times”.

He added, “There are many professions where people earn their wages on a daily basis. As workshops and small enter-prises are closed to prevent the spread of the virus, those workers find themselves with no money. They do not have enough savings to live on during the closure. To meet their basic needs, QRCS seeks to provide food for them. At the same time, its Humanitarian Services Fund continues to offer seasonal and emergency assistance to the needy families."

In partnership with the Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) and its organs, QRCS is providing health and psycho-logical services for those at risk of infection at quarantine facil-ities, health education for workers at health centers and

companies; healthcare and personal supplies for inmates and workers at quarantine facilities (mattresses, blankets, clothes, hygiene kits, etc.), psy-chological support for the quar-antined persons, health pro-tective supplies (such as masks and sanitizers), personal pro-tective equipment (PPE) for the volunteers and staff working at facilities or districts at risk of infection, and food meals for the workers and other vul-nerable groups affected by stop of work and home quarantine.

Al Hammadi thanked the Regulatory Authority for Char-itable Activities (RACA) for pro-viding facilitations and approvals to make the cam-paign a reality. He appreciated the support given by many organisations and companies to QRCS’s work at the Mekaines quarantine facility, a four-complex location with a capacity of 7,000 workers.

These contributors include: Qatar Charity, Afif Charity, Jassim and Hamad Bin Jassim Charitable Foundation, Nasser Bin Khaled Charitable Foun-dation, ExxonMobil Qatar, Ooredoo, Alfardan Group, ALFA Telecom, Al-Adekhar Real Estate, and Qatar Football Association.

Al-Hammadi invited all the rich in Qatar to donate for this noble campaign.

Ali bin Hassan Al Hammadi, Secretary-General of QRCS.

160 students join Turkish language courses remotelyTHE PENINSULA — DOHA

With the participation of 160 students, the Turkish Cultural Centre, Yunus Emre, recently organised many courses in Turkish language using virtual and distance education plat-forms.

The Director of the Turkish Cultural Centre Yunus Emre in Doha, Dr. Seljuk Kuja (pictured), said that the initi-ative comes in response to the current health conditions and in line with preventive measures to avoid the causes

of infection with coronavirus.T h e C e n t r e u s e s

virtual education and education platforms remotely and the live interactive lessons system is implemented according to the Zoom application, he noted.

He also said that about 5 teachers are providing these lessons to 160 students enrolled in distance education courses, explaining that there will be an online exam at the end of these courses.

The courses for teaching the Turkish language are at the forefront of activities and events launched by Turkish Cultural Centre Yunus Emre in

Doha, and it aims to promote Turkish culture and language.

Since its inauguration in late 2015, the Centre has launched a number of events that reflect the richness and diversity of Turkish culture, and it also plays a prominent role in spreading Turkish culture, arts and language through its participation in cul-tural activities, as well as is able to open windows in the definition of the Turkish lan-guage, arts, heritage and culture and contributes to their publication.

People living with diabetes must take extra precautions and preventive measures to protect themselves from COVID-19 infection and to stay safe, according to the Ministry of Public Health. The Ministry has issued guidance for people living with type 1 diabetes and also asked them to remain well hydrated

Titled, ‘Virtual Studios’, the programme has been launched to support the VCUarts Qatar community, and one of the courses, “Art in Support of our Heroes”, will cater to all those who are bravely and selflessly working for the safety of all of Qatar’s citizens, such as medical and hospital staff.

THE PENINSULA — DOHA

Shantiniketan Indian School (SIS) organised an online teachers discussion on “effective methodology for remote teaching” with the panellists demonstrating various digital tools and tech-niques that can ensure an engaging, interactive and effective teaching learning process in this critical time where nations are adopting social distancing and students confined to their homes.

The discussion was moderated by Nazia Saleem, witnessed demon-stration by teachers from all sections on ways to flip their lessons. Varalakshmi Ganesan (KG); Mahek Latheef (Primary); Austin

Solomon (Junior); Sheeja Thamby (Middle); Aneesha Majeed (Secondary); and Tono Fernandez (Senior Secondary) took part in the forum with tools like Edpuzzle, Quizlet, Prezi, whiteboards, mid mapping tools, and a lot more in addition to Google Suite Platforms that are currently being used for remote

teaching to students of all classes from KG – XII. Prin-cipal, Dr. Subhash Nair, expressed happiness at the progress of remote teaching that is benefitting the stu-dents and has urged the teachers to make use of all the tools available and dis-cussed to make the process effective, engaging and interactive.

SIS conducts

online teachers

discussion forum

Shantiniketan Indian School teachers attend an online discussion on 'effective methodology for remote teaching'.

Nehmeh launches e-commerce platformTHE PENINSULA — DOHA

Nehmeh, a leading provider of quality industrial solutions, is once again setting the standards. The company announced yesterday the launch of its first innovative E-Commerce website enabling Industrial customers to order online in Qatar with delivery and payment options.

Online shoppers will now find award-winning brands, many of who are market leaders in their cat-egories, such as Makita, Koshin, Norton, Kohler-SDMO, Stampa, Portacool, U-Pol and more available on the Nehmeh Online Store.

Nehmeh has a wide presence in the Automotive, Construction, Heat Transfer, Rental, Service and Wood-working Industrial Performance Solutions. In addition to Nehmeh’ large retail network in Qatar and B2C, B2B channel networks, the transition online will now enable tens of thousands of people access

reliable industrial solutions. “In these uncertain times, we

have looked to invest in the present and future so as to make our solu-tions available to our customers that can have a choice to deliver to them in a convenient, accessible and safe way.” said Alexander A Nehme, Director of Strategic Indic-atives. “As we look at a post-COVID-19 era, It is important for businesses adapt and change their business models and embrace digital transformation as we are doing throughout our value chain” added Alexander.

Being rolled out in phases, the Nehmeh Online Shop will allow both

trade & industry customers to inquire and order online from thousands of products, accessories & spare parts. Delivery and payment options will include collection in store, cash on-delivery, payments in credit & debit cards or through special coupons exclusively for members of the “Rewards by Nehmeh” program, as well as PayPal.

The second generation of the Nehmeh App, the most popular industrial mobile application in Qatar, will follow suit in line with the e-commerce platform enabling purchases through its existing mobile apps already available on Google and Apple stores.

07TUESDAY 21 APRIL 2020 MIDDLE EAST / AFRICA

Iranians shop at the Grand Bazaar market in the capital Tehran, yesterday.

Oman announcescontinued closureof mosquesduring RamadanQNA & ANATOLIA — MUSCAT

Omani authorities yesterday announced the continuation of closure of all mosques, except for the call for prayer, and emphasized the non-performance of any type of congregational prayers, including Taraweeh. They also extended the lockdown of Muscat Governorate till May 8.

That was announced after the Supreme Committee tasked with studying scopes for a mechanism to deal with developments resulting from coronavirus pandemic held a meeting chaired by Minister of Interior.

The Committee, according to Oman News Agency, pro-hibited all members of society from organizing any Ramadan gatherings, like iftar meals and barbeques, at mosques or any other public places like tents and community councils. It also banned social, sports, cultural and recreational activities. The number of coronavirus cases in Oman rose to 1,410 after 144 more cases were reported. The infections included four deaths and 238 recoveries.

Kuwait, Morocco, and Lebanon yesterday updated data on the novel coronavirus pandemic.In Kuwait, the death toll is now nine, after two more patients died yesterday, while 367 people have recovered in the country so far. The Health Ministry added that 80 people had tested positive, bringing the total number of cases to 1,995.

In Morocco, the death toll rose to 143 after two patients died.Health Ministry said that 135 confirmed new cases brought the infections to 2,990, including 340 recov-eries. In Lebanon, four more people tested positive for COVID-19, pushing the total to 677, including 21 fatalities.

Iran opens major shopping centres;deaths from virus rise to 5,209AGENCIES — TEHRAN

Iran reported 91 new fatalities from coronavirus, raising the death toll to 5,209, state media said yesterday.

The Iranian state television reported Kianoush Jahanpour, a spokesman for the Health Ministry, as saying that 1,294 more people tested positive for COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, bringing the total number of infections to 83,505.

Jahanpour added that 59,273 people have recovered and been discharged from hos-pitals, whereas 3,389 patients were in critical condition.

Iran yesterday began opening intercity highways and major shopping centers to stim-ulate its sanctions-choked economy, gambling that it has brought under control its

coronavirus outbreak - one of the worst in the world - even as some fear it could lead to a second wave of infections

Stores from high-end malls to the meandering alleyways of Tehran’s historic Grand Bazaar opened their doors, though the government limited their working hours until 6 p.m. Res-taurants, gyms and other loca-tions remain closed, however.

There are still lingering questions over Iran’s outbreak and the safety of those returning to work. Taxi drivers partitioned their seats from the customers with plastic shields and wore masks, having seen colleagues sickened and killed by the virus and the COVID-19 illness it causes.

“We, the taxi drivers, are at the highest risk than anybody else because we are constantly

in touch with people,” cab driver Nemat Hassanzadeh said. “Despite that, we have no choice but to work because we cannot afford to sleep at home and not to work with these high prices.... I am a tenant and need the money to pay the monthly rent and also pay off my car loan.”

Iran’s outbreak has killed over 5,000 people in over 80,000 reported cases, though even Iran’s parliament suggests the death toll is nearly double that and overall cases remain vastly underre-ported. Deaths and new cases con-tinue to be reported. Iran down-played the crisis for weeks, even as top officials found themselves sick with the virus. The country’s civilian government, led by Pres-ident Hassan Rouhani, has declined to implement the 24-hour lockdowns seen in other Mideast nations.

Iran, Syria call for lifting sanctions during pandemicAP — DAMASCUS

Iran’s foreign minister used a meeting with Syrian Pres-ident Bashar Al Assad yesterday to call on the US to lift sanctions imposed on both countries, during his first visit to the war-ravaged country in a year.

Iran has been a close ally of Assad in Syria’s long and bloody nine-year-long civil war, lending his government in Damascus vital military and economic support.

The remarks made by Mohammad Javad Zarif during the meeting with Assad were reported by Syria’s state-run news agency SANA.

Zarif said America had shown its inhumane face to the world by refusing to lift sanc-tions during the pandemic.

A photo of the meeting released by SANA showed Assad wearing a face mask while Zarif had also put on a mask and blue gloves.

Iran is facing one the worst outbreaks in the Middle East with 83,500 confirmed cases of the coronavirus, and more than 5,200 deaths from the Covid-19 illness it causes. Syria has reported only 39 cases of the virus and two deaths.

Assad expressed his condo-lences to Iran over the deaths caused by coronavirus during the meeting.

The Syrian leader said that

the pandemic was being used for “political exploitation” by the US and its allies.

Syria and Iran are both under American sanctions that they both say are affecting their fight against the virus by lim-iting some humanitarian imports.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry said on Sunday that Zarif will discuss with Assad and other Syrian officials bilateral rela-tions and developments in the region.

Russia, Iran and Turkey, who back rival groups in Syria’s conflict, have been sponsoring talks in Kazakhstan to try to end the conflict that has killed nearly half a million people.

Unicef appeals for$92.4m in funds asvirus deepens povertyAFP — AMMAN

The UN children’s agency yesterday appealed for $92.4m in new funds for the Middle East and North Africa to help combat the effects of corona-virus on already poverty-stricken areas.

“The region has the biggest number of children in need in the world due to ongoing con-flicts and wars,” said Ted Chaiban, Unicef director for the Middle East and North Africa, in a statement.

The combination of a lack of “or inadequate basic services, years of conflict, poverty, deprivation and now COVID-19 are hitting vulnerable children the most, making their hard lives simply unbearable,” he added.

Nearly 25 million children across the region are in need, including many who are ref-ugees and internally displaced, the statement said.

The majority were uprooted due to armed conflicts in Iraq, Libya, the Palestinian terri-tories, Sudan, Syria and Yemen, it said.

The devastating effects of population lockdowns -- intro-duced to forestall the spread of coronavirus — on employment and business will drag around eight million more people into poverty regionally, an esti-mated half of them children, Unicef added.

Around 110 million children are now stuck at home rather than in school, it said.

The agency was therefore working with education min-istries across the region on “distant learning programmes and... making material available on radio, TV and online platforms” for continuity of learning.

It also said it was focusing on distributing printed copies of learning materials for “vul-nerable communities”.

Houthis release Yemen’s formerminister

ANATOLIA — SANA'A

Yemen’s Houthi rebel group yesterday released the former culture minister after day-long detention, a government source said.

On Sunday, Khaled Al Ruwaishan was picked up from his home in the capital Sanaa, which has been under the control of Houthi rebels since September 2014.

Al Ruwaishan, was set free after great pressure, a gov-ernment source told Anadolu Agency on condition of ano-nymity without elaborating what it meant.Local media outlets, meanwhile, said that al-Ruwaishan’s Bani Jabr tribe played a role in his release.

The former minister is known for his critical writings on the Houthis since the out-break of the conflict in Yemen in March 2015.

Al Ruwaishan’s arrest came a week after a Houthi court issued a non-final death sen-tence against four journalists among 10 captured by the Iran-backed militias since March 2015.

COVID-19 puts missile showdown between Turkey and US on holdREUTERS — ISTANBUL

Turkey’s plans to switch on its new Russian missile defence systems have been delayed by the coronavirus outbreak but it does not intend to reverse a decision which has raised the threat of US sanctions, a senior Turkish official said.

Tensions between Nato allies Turkey and the United States over the S-400 air defence systems had looked set to reach a showdown in April, when President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the government had said they would be activated.

But the coronavirus out-break has focused Turkish efforts on combatting the pan-demic and ring-fencing an economy which only just pulled out of recession last year. In recent weeks Erdogan and his government have not raised the S-400 issue publicly.

“There is no going back on the decision to activate the S-400s (but) due to COVID-19... the plan for them to be ready in April will be delayed,” the

senior official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. It could be several months before the Russian system is activated, the official said, adding some technical issues remained to be overcome. The Turkish defence ministry declined to comment.

The United States says the S-400s, which Moscow

delivered to Turkey last July, are incompatible with Nato defences and would jeopardise US F35 stealth jets which Turkey planned to buy.

Their acquisition by Turkey means Ankara could face US sanctions under legislation designed to punish countries which buy defence equipment

from Russia. Turkey’s presi-dency made no mention of the S-400s in a statement following a call between Erdogan and US President Donald Trump on Sunday, which it said focused on cooperation to protect health and the economy from coronavirus.

Deploying the S-400s in the

same airspace as US planes would be a “massive problem” which would create a new crisis between the two countries, Richard Outzen, a senior adviser at the State Department, told an online discussion last week.

Turkey’s air force includes U.S. F16 jets and it had been due to take delivery of the new F35s before Washington cut it from the F35 programme in response to the S-400s contract.

The issue “is muffled right now because of COVID, but the thinking in Washington prior to COVID dominating the dis-course was that the Turks were probably going to activate the system in April and Congress was going to move to impose sanctions,” Outzen said. “I don’t think any of that has gone away”.

The delay in deploying the S-400s gives Ankara more time to consider its next move, ana-lysts say. A recent alignment of US-Turkish interests in Syria and the economic impact of the coronavirus crisis could also have a bearing.

Pigeons are seen at the nearly empty Taksim Square and its surroundings after measures taken against the spread of coronavirus pandemic, in Istanbul yesterday.

Syria and Iran are both under American sanctions that they both say are affecting their fight against the virus by limiting some humanitarian imports. The Iranian foreign minister said America had shown its inhumane face to the world by refusing to lift sanctions during the pandemic.

Palestinian President directs lockdown ease for Ramadan

QNA — RAMALLAH

Palest inian President Mahmoud Abbas directed the government to ease the lockdown measure, especially with the approach of the holy fasting month of Ramadan.

Abbas headed the minis-terial meeting via video con-ference where he spoke about several issues, including the coronavirus outbreak, COVID-19, in Palestine and measures to ease the lockdown imposed in early March.

President Abbas praised the government efforts to contain the impact of the virus, which had positive results on the Palestinians, including pro-vision of the necessary equipment to combat the virus.

Even in the United States well-resourced and safety-conscious news organisations are finding it difficult to keep on-the-ground reporting flowing and their staff safe.

08 TUESDAY 21 APRIL 2020VIEWS

CHAIRMANSHEIKH DR. KHALID BIN THANI AL THANI

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

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ACTING MANAGING EDITORMOHAMMED SALIM MOHAMED

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EDITORIAL

WORKING from home is changing the way we all work and it is a crucial time for all sectors to discover the challenges and problems that may need short-term or long-term solutions.

Taking note of this, the Communications Regulatory Authority (CRA), with the support of Ministry of Transport and Communications (MoTC), took the initiative in coop-eration with local network providers Ooredoo Qatar and Vodafone Qatar and with international giants Microsoft, Cisco and Google Cloud to provide offers and packages for telecom services to help people of Qatar to work remotely from home easily and safely during the pre-cautionary measures taken to limit the spread of COVID-19.

Mohammed Ali Al Mannai, President of CRA, said. “I would like to sincerely thank MoTC for its support to these initiatives. The presence of a highly efficient infra-structure has helped to continue providing reliable services that ensure work continuity of various entities without interruption, and that all citizens and residents of Qatar are able to stay up to date with the latest updates related to the COVID-19 and stay in touch with their families and friends.”

Both Ooredoo Qatar and Vodafone Qatar have intro-duced many promotional packages, doubled the speed of Internet for existing residential customers and also doubled the mobile data for residential and business customers, free of additional charges. The measures also included facilitating the remote operation of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) by enabling them to access collaboration tools for free through cloud com-puting platform of Microsoft, which has launched an ini-tiative to provide a number of free services nationwide, such as the customized package of “Office 365”.

Cisco will support businesses in Qatar by offering them free licenses up to 90 days for collaboration tools and several security solutions. The tools include the cloud collaboration platform “WebEx” which allows them to make voice and video conference calls. In terms of the security solutions, Cisco will support businesses by offering Remote Access VPN (Virtual Private Network) with Cisco AnyConnect + virtual Firewall, and Cyber Security anywhere through Cisco Umbrella. For its part, Google Cloud will support businesses in Qatar by offering them free access until September 30, 2020 to Google Meet’s advanced video conferencing abilities for G Suite customers. G Suite is an integrated solution that includes Gmail, Calendar, and Chat.

The spread of COVID-19 is having a significant impact on our day-to-day lives. The CRA, in cooper-ation with key players in the Information and Commu-nications Technology sector, is helping people and busi-nesses work remotely from home easily and safely.

Ensuring better connectivity

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Quote of the day

We must not lose sight of the fact that we stand

at the beginning of the pandemic and are still a

long way from being out of the woods. We must

remain vigilant and disciplined.

Angela Merkel, German Chancellor

Mexican journalists work during a protest of administrative workers of the General Balbuena Hospital demanding personal protective equipment to prevent being infected by the novel coronavirus, in Mexico City.

Pictures of a CTV journalist trying to observe “social distancing” by strapping his microphone to a hockey stick may have prompted smiles at a very Canadian answer to coronavirus reporting. But journalists’ safety in this time of unprecedented pestilence and economic turmoil is no laughing matter.

The spotlight now is rightly on medical and emer-gency response staff and car-egivers. Their chances of getting sick or even dying from COVID-19 while helping the rest of us are real and growing. Reports of the lack of personal protective

equipment in hospitals are horrifying.

In some instances, doctors and nurses have uploaded their own photographs and commentary to social media to show the world the condi-tions inside emergency rooms. One group nurses in New York resorted to wrapping themselves in plastic garbage bags for protection.

User-generated reports and photographs like these break news. Yet we still want professional journalists to fact check, contextualise and amplify many of them. We also expect original reporting and that means writers and broadcasters taking risks. As in a war or natural disaster, they have to go to the front lines even if in this pandemic those lines are anywhere and everywhere.

Just as important, they have to return from those newsgath-ering forays unharmed. If you think our need for sober, eye-witness testimony and hard facts is pressing now, just wait until authoritarian govern-ments, online hucksters, misin-formation peddlers and con-spiracy trolls have further restricted, distorted or poi-soned the well of public health information in a few months’ time.

Those countries that stifle independent news and jail journalists in “normal” times have already been hard at work. China at first tried to quarantine the truth along with the population at the epicentre of the outbreak. As the virus rampaged through Iran, the leadership censored

news of its spread with devas-tating consequences for public health.

Governments from Thailand, through Hungary and Egypt to Honduras are using the cloud cover of the disease to introduce emer-gency measures that could roll back basic freedoms, clamp down on the press or restrict foreign correspondents.

Even in regions where authorities are not actively suppressing news, many leaders whether through incompetence or indifference do not appear up to the public health challenge.

That is where credible, independent media that focus on the truth of this disease come in. And to carry out this vital function, journalists and media support workers must avoid infection.

Even in the United States well-resourced and safety-conscious news organisations are finding it difficult to keep on-the-ground reporting flowing and their staff safe.

It appears only a matter of time before the virus spreads in sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle East and South Asia where many governments are ill equipped to cope. Their populations will need timely and accurate information which sometimes may con-tradict the official stance. Already underfunded and under threat, the independent media in these regions face even more testing times ahead.

That is why owners, pub-lishers, and editors need to provide the knowledge and the resources to keep their

staff healthy. Individual reporters, whether staff or freelancers, must re-learn how to stay safe even when reporting in their own neigh-bourhoods, let alone further afield. Reporting should be risk assessed, with hygiene and safe practice protocols emphasised continually.

Stress levels are high both among reporting staff, but also their families. Virtual peer support networks and mental health resources need to be considered - if jour-nalists are going to be able to stay the course.

Journalists like those in Italy or Spain are covering a deadly story on their own doorstep yet they cannot really go home or into their offices for fear of infecting family or colleagues. They are under intense psychological strain as well as suffering from physical exhaustion.

We have already seen the newsrooms of big media organisations hit by the virus in New York. They scrambled to anchor broadcasts from other studios and cities and deploy regional teams. They have resources. Media houses in much of the rest of the world do not have such deep pockets.

These are unprecedented times. No working journalist alive has ever covered any-thing like this story. Even vet-erans of war-reporting or Ebola coverage need to reevaluate risk and learn new skills.

Robert Mahoney is the Deputy Executive Director of the Committee to Protect Journalists.

MATT SINGH — BLOOMBERG

Since the coronavirus outbreak began, the UK has seemed more united than at any point in the last few years. The political logjam over Brexit has given way to solidarity against a common, invisible enemy. But beneath the surface, the divisions that defined the past four years persist and may grow as Britain’s transition period runs out.

Even amid the “rally round the flag,” there are still big dif-ferences between Remainers and Leavers, making questions over whether to extend the current Brexit transition period beyond this year par-ticularly fraught. For example, while Boris Johnson’s satis-faction ratings were 72% in our recent Number Cruncher poll, this was 87% among Leavers

and 57% among Remainers, and the same pattern was in evidence for other questions too.

This isn’t the extreme polarization seen in the US, but the Brexit effect is still there. Just because the public overall leans heavily one way, it doesn’t stop there being a 30-point gap between the two blocs, even if majorities of both approve of the prime minister’s performance. Within political circles the culture wars under-lying the Brexit divide have played out too, particularly among coronavirus subplots, with battlegrounds including university bailouts, acceptable terminology and gender balance at the government’s press briefings.

The official government position is that the current transition period will end this

year and that negotiations over future trade arrange-ments will be concluded or else Britain will trade with the European Union on World Trade Organisation terms. The UK can request an extension of up to two years, but it must do so by July. While the complexities of those negotiations - from fishing quotas to customs arrangements to questions of governance - receive limited public attention on their own, the prospect of additional economic stress, which might be avoided through extension, is likely to draw divisions to the surface as we move closer to the deadline.

Despite his campaign pledges, Johnson probably has the political capital to extend if he wants to. He finds himself in a historically strong

position in the polls, and he’s fundamentally trusted by Brexiters in his own party in a way that his predecessor Theresa May was not.

Public opinion, as always, has multiple moving parts. Leave voters are divided on an extension to the transition period. There have also been questions asked about the UK’s non-participation in EU procurement schemes for personal protective equipment, where shortages for medical staff remain a major problem.

Europe’s own struggles to find a joint response that doesn’t widen the economic divide - and stoke political ten-sions - between southern and northern countries may also influence the UK debate over extension and its future rela-tionship with its neighbours.

Journalists need to be protected during the pandemic

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Britain’s Brexit divisions are never far away

Established in 1996

ROBERT MAHONEY AL JAZEERA

Ducks' day out

09TUESDAY 21 APRIL 2020 MIDDLE EAST / AFRICA

Syria Kurds set up first coronavirus hospitalAFP — HASAKEH, SYRIA

Syria’s Kurds have set up a specialised hospital for corona-virus cases, the Kurdish Red Crescent said yesterday, after the first COVID-19 death was reported in the northeastern region.

The United Nations on Friday said a man aged in his fifties had on April 2 become the first fatality from COVID-19 in northeast Syria. In a region suffering from a lack of medical supplies, the news further raised fears of a breakout, including in its thronging camps for the displaced.

Kurdish Red Crescent co-director Sherwan Bery said a new 120-bed facility was now ready to welcome any mod-erate cases of the virus around 10km outside the city of Hasakeh. The hospital “is to just focus on the COVID-19 infection cases” and keep them all in the same place instead of across dif-ferent hospitals, he said.

The idea is “to not spread contamination to other areas,” Bery said.Journalists saw a large ward containing dozens of beds spaced out several metres apart, with tall oxygen tanks by their side.

“We are preparing for the moderate cases,” Bery said, but efforts were also ongoing to set up an intensive care unit for severe cases, there or in another location.

Ducks cross a road, during a countrywide lockdown to combat the spread of the coronavirus disease, in Marjayoun, southern Lebanon, yesterday.

Netanyahu, Gantz sign unity govt dealREUTERS — OCCUPIED JERUSALEM

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his centrist election rival Benny Gantz signed an agreement yesterday to form an emergency coalition government that would end a year of political deadlock.

Netanyahu’s right-wing Likud and Gantz’s Blue and White party issued a joint statement saying they had clinched a unity deal, which follows elections in April and September 2019 and on March 2 in which neither won a gov-e r n i n g m a j o r i t y i n parliament.

Official details of the power-sharing deal were not immediately disclosed, but a source in Blue and White said the two had agreed Netanyahu would remain prime minister for a set period until Gantz takes over in October 2021.

Until then, Gantz, a former armed forces chief, will serve as defence minister and several of his political allies, including two members of Israel’s Labour Party, will receive ministerial portfolios as well.

During the negotiations the parties cited a number of sticking points, including the planned annexation of Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank where Palestinians seek a state, and setting a nom-

ination process for judges. Palestinian officials did not

immediately comment. Netanyahu, in power con-

secutively for the past 11 years, is under criminal indictment on corruption charges which he denies. They include bribery, fraud and breach of trust.

Gantz on the campaign trail promised not to sit in a gov-ernment led by a prime min-ister facing criminal charges, but he recently backtracked, saying the enormity of the coronavirus crisis necessitated an emergency unity government.

“We have prevented a fourth election. We will protect democracy. We will fight coro-navirus and care for all Israel’s citizens,” Gantz said on Twitter after signing the deal. Netanyahu tweeted a picture of Israel’s blue and white flag.

Libya’s UN-recognised Government of National Accord (GNA) forces make preparations as they launch an operation against the militias of warlord Khalifa Haftar in the town of Tarhunah near Tripoli, yesterday.

Libyan government forces strike Haftar militiasREUTERS — TRIPOLI

Libya’s UN-recognized government of National Accord (GNA) said yesterday it had targeted three airstrikes at militia of warlord Khalifa Haftar southeast of the capital Tripoli.

Following the airstrikes on militia in Tarhuna, a city 80km southeast of Tripoli, Mustafa al-Majei, spokesman for the GNA-led Operation Volcano of Rage, told Anadolu Agency that there is a cautious calm in areas south of Tripoli. Al Majei con-firmed that government forces are keeping their positions in the areas around Tarhuna.

On Saturday, GNA forces launched an operation to recapture Tarhuna, a town of strategic value for Haftar and his last major stronghold in the area surrounding Tripoli.

Tarhuna is a major focal point for Haftar’s militias in their onslaught against Tripoli as well as for their supply lines from Al Jufra airbase.

The GNA has been under attack by Haftar’s forces since last April, with more than 1,000 killed in the violence. It

launched Operation Peace Storm on March 26 to counter attacks on the capital.

Since the ouster of longtime

ruler Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, two seats of power have emerged in Libya: Haftar in eastern Libya, supported by

Egypt and the United Arab Emirates, and the GNA in Tripoli, which enjoys UN and international recognition.

Burkina Faso securityforces accused of killing31 unarmed civiliansREUTERS — OUAGADOUGOU

International advocacy group Human Rights Watch (HRW) said yesterday that it believed security forces in Burkina Faso had summarily executed 31 unarmed detainees earlier this month during operations against Islamist militants.

The bullet-riddled bodies of the men from the Fulani ethnic group were discovered in the northern town of Djibo on April 9, shortly after they had been arrested by security forces and taken away in a convoy, 17 witnesses and people with knowledge of the situation told HRW.

A government spokesman did not respond to repeated requests from Reuters for comment about the incident, including questions on Monday about HRW’s report. The day after the incident, a researcher from Amnesty International tweeted that, according to mul-tiple witnesses, security forces had executed 29 men in Djibo.

The government is strug-gling to contain jihadist groups in northern Burkina Faso who have stoked ethnic conflict by

closely associating themselves with Fulani herders. As a result, Fulani civilians have borne the brunt of reprisals by soldiers and vigilantes, rights groups say.

Since 2017, armed Islamist groups, some with ties to al Qaeda and Islamic State, have killed more than 300 civilians in Burkina Faso, while the gov-ernment has killed several hundred men for their alleged support of these groups, according to HRW.

Burkinabe officials have promised to investigate such allegations in the past but rights group say the government has not done enough to hold per-petrators accountable.

“The Burkinabe security forces apparently executed 31 men in a brutal mockery of a counter-terrorism operation that may amount to a war crime and could fuel further atrocities,” said Corinne Dufka, HRW’s director for the conflict-hit Sahel region in West Africa.

“The government should stop the abuse, fully investigate this terrible incident, and commit to a rights-respecting counterterrorism strategy,” Dufka said in the report.

Zimbabwe court orders police to stop harassing journalists covering lockdownAFP — HARARE

A Zimbabwean high court yesterday ordered police to desist from arresting, detaining or interfering with the work of journalists providing coverage during the COVID-19 lockdown.

The Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) and journalist Panashe Makufa had petitioned the court to issue the order following a string of incidents in which police and other law enforcement agencies har-assed or arrested journalists while carrying out their duties.

“The High Court has directed that... arrests or detention or other forms of har-assment must stop,” a lawyer for the applicants, Chris Mhike, told AFP after the ruling.

“The police and all others

who are working with the police in enforcing the rules of the lockdown have been inter-dicted from carrying out those actions that amount to har-assment of journalists,” Mhike said.

Announcing the ruling in court, Judge Jacob Manzunzu gave the police hierarchy 12 hours to inform its members and other law enforcement agencies involved in enforcing the lockdown that the 2019 press card is valid.

Some police officers have raised concerns over the expiry dates of official press cards, demanding that journalists produce letters of exemption in addition to the cards.

The government had cate-gorised journalism as an essential service during the lockdown.

But the police argued that “journalists are not exempted from the lockdown,” claiming that only journalists “from broadcasting and internet” were exempt.

The debate was laid to rest this weekend when the gov-ernment exempted “the activ-ities of persons as journalists, newspaper vendors or employees of such services” in its announcement extending the 21-day lockdown by 14 days to May 3.

MISA Zimbabwe’s exec-utive director Tabani Moyo praised the court’s ruling, adding: “We hope the police will ensure that no journalist will be harmed going forward. We don’t want to keep on recording cases of law enforcement agencies targeting the journalists of this country.”

Lesotho govt agrees 'dignified retirement' for PM ThabaneREUTERS — MASERU, LESOTHO

Lesotho’s government has agreed with South African mediators and political parties to implement a “dignified retirement” for Prime Minister Thomas Thabane, a joint statement said yesterday, signalling stepped up efforts to end a political crisis.

Thabane has been under pressure to resign owing to a

murder case in which he and his current wife are suspected of being involved in the assassi-nation of his previous wife, charges which both of them deny.

“The coalition government of the Kingdom of Lesotho commits to effecting the imple-mentation process or modal-ities for the dignified, graceful and secure retirement of the right honourable prime min-ister,” a joint statement said.

Thabane had pledged to step down at the end of July, but South African mediator Jeff Radebe told journalists in Lesotho’s capital Maseru that “the timeline is immediate,” for his leaving office.

Neither Thabane nor his spokespeople were immedi-ately available for comment on whether or when he plans to quit as prime minister of Lesotho, a tiny kingdom

embedded in a South African mountain range.

South African diplomats stepped in to try to calm ten-sions on Sunday, a day after Thabane sent soldiers and armoured vehicles onto the streets of Maseru to restore order against what he said were “rogue national elements”.

Though small and with a population of not much more than 2 million, Lesotho’s

political upheavals often draw in its bigger neighbour, South Africa, for whom the kingdom’s mountains are an essential source of running water.

Lesotho has experienced several coups since gaining inde-pendence from Britain in 1966, and in 1998 at least 58 people and eight South African soldiers died and parts of Maseru were damaged in a political stand-off and subsequent fighting.

REUTERS — LAGOS

It is hard enough for adults to get their heads around the coronavirus, but for children it can be even more difficult to understand why they can’t see their friends or play outside.

That is where Niyi Akin-molayan’s cartoon monster comes in. The Nigerian film-maker has created a 90-second animation to help youngsters understand why they have to stay at home after schools in Lagos were shut from March 23 and public gatherings were banned to stem the spread of the disease.

It tells the story of two sib-lings, Habeeb and Funke. Habeeb gets tired of staying at home and decides to sneak out to play soccer. His older sister Funke warns him not go out, but he insists, only to be confronted by a monster.

Akinmolayan, best known for directing “The Wedding Party 2”, Nigeria’s highest grossing movie, said he was inspired after several attempts to explain the lockdown to his 5-year-old son.

“But he still didn’t get it until I kind of changed the nar-rative and said the coronavirus actually looks like a big monster and it is out there in the street and if you go it will

catch you,” he said. The message seems to

have sunk in with some children who have seen the video. “My favourite part was when the boy opened the door and saw the coronavirus, the monster, outside, and he slammed the door and had to go inside, and now I know that

this is not the right time to go anywhere or outside,” said Ezichi Nwaogu, 9, watching with her sister at their Lagos home. Akinmolayan made the ani-mation through his production company, Anthill Studios, using a 10-strong crew all working separately from their homes.

It is being distributed for

free and can be downloaded in English, Igbo, Yoruba, Hausa, French and Swahili. It is showing on some terrestrial television stations.

As of Sunday, Nigeria had recorded 627 cases of the virus and 21 people have died, including the president’s chief of staff.

Nigerian filmmaker Niyi Akinmolayan who created an animated video to educate kids on coronavirus, works on his laptop in his home, amid the spread of the coronavirus disease, in Lagos, Nigeria.

Cartoon monster helps explain coronavirus to Nigerian kids

Official details of the power-sharing deal were not immediately disclosed, but a source in Blue and White said the two had agreed Netanyahu would remain prime minister for a set period until Gantz takes over in October 2021.

10 TUESDAY 21 APRIL 2020ASIA

Virus cases in Japansurge over 10,000;hospitals stretchedAFP — TOKYO

Japanese medics are warning more must be done to prevent the coronavirus from over-whelming the country’s healthcare system as confirmed cases passed 10,000, despite a nationwide state of emergency.

Experts have been alarmed by a recent spike in COVID-19 infections, with hundreds detected daily.

Japan’s outbreak remains less severe than in hard-hit European countries, but its caseload is one of Asia’s highest after China and India, and is roughly on par with South Korea. There have been 171 deaths recorded so far in Japan and 10,751 cases, with the country under a month-long state of emergency, initially covering seven regions but now in place nationwide.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has urged residents to reduce contact with other people by 70 to 80 percent, and the number of people on Tokyo’s normally packed transport system has

dropped significantly.But the measures do not

prevent people from going out, and many shops and even res-taurants remain open, even as medical associations warn the country’s healthcare system is struggling to cope.

“The system is on the verge of collapse in many places in Japan,” said Kentaro Iwata, an infectious diseases specialist from Kobe University who has repeatedly criticised the govern-ment’s response to the crisis.

Speaking at a press briefing yesterday, Iwata said Japan’s strategy of limited testing and intensive contact-tracing worked well in the initial phase of the local outbreak, when numbers were small. But he charged that Japan failed to adapt as the out-break grew.

“We needed to prepare for once the situation changes, once the cluster-chasing became not effective and we needed to change strategy immediately,” he said.

“But traditionally speaking, and historically speaking, Japan is not very good at changing strategy,” he added.

“We are very poor at even thinking of plan B because thinking of plan B is a sign of admitting failure of plan A.”

Japan’s government argues it has adjusted its strategy, boosting testing capacity, changing rules that required all positive cases to remain in hos-pitals where wards quickly became full, and imposing the state of emergency to reduce the

spread. But medical experts have called the measures insufficient.

“Beds for novel coronavirus patients continue to be almost full,” Haruo Ozaki, president of the Tokyo Medical Association, warned last week.

The association has been increasing beds but with a large number of new cases coming in every day, “beds are being occupied instantly,” he said.

The health minister has acknowledged that hospitals have in some cases turned away suspected coronavirus patients in ambulances.

“Japan hasn’t built a system in which ordinary hospitals can take infectious disease patients in an emergency, when desig-nated hospitals can’t cope,” Ozaki said on Friday.

“We are doing our best... but infections are spreading faster than expected,” he added.

And hospitals are also strug-gling with equipment shortages, with the mayor of Osaka calling for donations of unused raincoats for health workers currently forced to use garbage bags for protective equipment.

Both Iwata and Ozaki warned that the state of emergency now

in place until at least May 6 was not sufficient.

“While they talk about border controls and decreasing person-to-person contacts, they let stores stay open,” Ozaki complained.

Iwata said he was “half-encouraged and half-dis-couraged” by the infection numbers in Tokyo, which he called “relatively stable.”

“My biggest fear was the explosion of diagnoses... like in New York City, which didn’t happen,” he said.

“These numbers are much better than the worst-case scenario.”

People commute to work despite a state of emergency in Japan at Shinagawa station, in Tokyo.

There have been 171 deaths recorded so far in Japan and 10,751 cases, with the country under a month-long state of emergency, initially covering seven regions but now in place nationwide.

India partially eases lockdown in rural areasREUTERS — NEW DELHI

Some shops and businesses opened in rural India yesterday as part of a staggered exit from a weeks-long lockdown that has left millions out of work and short of food, while coronavirus infections rose by more than 1,500 over the previous day.

India’s 1.3 billion population has been under one of the world’s toughest lockdowns with people forbidden from stepping out of their homes except for food and medicines until May 3.

But Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government said some activities, including factories and farming, would be allowed from yesterday in the hinterland which has been less-hard hit by COVID-19.

Small businesses reopened in the rural parts of most pop-ulous Uttar Pradesh after the lockdown in late March but police were deployed to ensure people maintained social distancing.

Ramkumar Sharma, a car-penter on the outskirts of Lucknow, the state capital, said he had opened up for business again and that he would take precautions going forward.

“This is a great relief to be able to work,” he said.

A small group of con-struction workers showed up a labour centre nearby hoping to get hired for day jobs, only to be dispersed by police.

Hundreds of thousands of migrant workers fled the big cities for their homes in the

villages, unable to pay for food and rent, after Modi announced a 21-day lockdown last month which he extended by another 19 days.

“The focus is on select industries and farming, and rural employment guarantee programme,” said Punya Salila Srivastava, a joint secretary at the home ministry which is managing the re-start of the economy.

India had 17,264 cases of coronavirus infections as yes-terday and more than 60 percent of these were from five of India’s 28 states. Such an uneven spread allows health officials to focus their efforts on the top affected areas, or red zones, such as Delhi and Mumbai, while allowing other states to re-start activities, another official said.

Around 4,000 factories resumed operations in western Gujarat, one of the country’s most industrialised regions, the chief minister’s office said.

These included small,

medium and big firms in sectors such as chemicals, engineering, textiles, plastics, packaging and automobiles, said Ashwani Kumar, Secretary to the Gujarat chief minister Vijay Rupani.

Modi’s critics have said he should have better planned the lockdown to lessen the impact on the economy and that India had no choice but to ramp up its testing for the coronavirus.

“The one-size-fit-all lockdown has brought untold misery & suffering to millions of farmers, migrant labourers, daily wagers & business owners,” said Rahul Gandhi, leader of the main opposition Congress, said in a tweet last week.

“It needs a ‘smart’ upgrade, using mass testing to isolate virus hotspots & allowing busi-nesses in other areas to grad-ually reopen. “

On Sunday, India tested 27,824 samples, the highest so far, but still some way off the target of 40,000 a day which officials want to eventually raise to 100,000.

People working in Parliament line up for a thermal screening as a preventive measure against the COVID-19, outside the Parliament House, in New Delhi, yesterday.

Indian tycoon

Mallya loses

appeal against

extradition

REUTERS — LONDON

Indian businessman Vijay Mallya lost an appeal in Britain’s High Court yesterday against a 2018 decision to extradite him to India to face fraud charges resulting from the collapse of his defunct company Kingfisher Airlines.

India wants to bring back Mallya, 64, over $1.4bn in loans Kingfisher took out from Indian banks which the authorities argue he had no intention of repaying.

“The SDJ (senior district judge) was entitled to find that there was a prima facie case of fraud by false representation,” the judge said in their more than 23,000-word ruling.

His extradition would be a huge win for Indian Prime Min-ister Narendra Modi, who has faced pressure from political opponents to bring to justice several people who have fled India in recent years to escape prosecution, many for loan defaults.

Mallya’s lawyer, Clare Mont-gomery, had argued that the 2018 extradition ruling by Judge Emma Arbuthnot had “multiple errors” because she did not take into account all the evidence about the financial status of Kingfisher Airlines.

In her judgement, Arbuthnot said that Indian banking officials might have been in “the thrall of this glamorous, flashy, famous, bejewelled, body-guarded, ostensibly billionaire playboy who charmed and cajoled” them into ignoring their own rules and regulations.

South Koreans return to work,crowd parks and malls associal distancing rules easeREUTERS — SEOUL

South Koreans are returning to work and crowding shopping malls, parks, golf courses and some restaurants as South Korea relaxes social distancing rules amid a continued downward trend in coronavirus cases.

A growing list of companies, including SK Innovation and Naver, has ended or eased their work from home policy in recent weeks, though many continue to apply flexible working hours and limit travel and face-to-face meetings.

Parks, mountains and golf courses brimmed with visitors over the weekend, while shopping malls and restaurants were slowly returning to normal.

South Korea’s ongoing recovery from the first major coronavirus outbreak outside

China paints a stark contrast to many other countries where metropolises remain sealed off and sweeping stay-at-home orders are in place.

“I’m a member of a com-munity football club and we went out to play on Saturday for the first time in two months,” said Kim Tae-hyung, a 31-year-old power plant engineer living in Seoul.

“We were wearing a mask while we played, still worried about the coronavirus, but the weather was nice and I felt so refreshed.”

South Korea extended its social distancing policy for another 16 days on Sunday but offered some relief for religious and sports facilities previously subjected to strict restrictions.

The decision is aimed at cautiously reopening Asia’s fourth-largest economy as daily infections continue to hover

around or less than 20, most arriving from overseas.

Seoul’s defence ministry also said yesterday that the mil-itary is resuming medical screening for candidates while considering easing restrictions on travel and guest visits.

The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) reported 13 new cases yesterday, a day after posting just eight — the first single digit daily rise since the February 28 peak of 909. The death toll stands at 236.

Health authorities urged vigilance, warning new clusters could still emerge at any time, especially after South Korea held the first national election last week since the epidemic began, and ahead of long hol-idays starting next week.

People wearing face masks walk on a zebra crossing amid the spread of the coronavirus disease, in Central Seoul, South Korea, yesterday.

Deaths from coronavirus exceed 100 in BangladeshANATOLIA — DHAKA

The death toll in Bangladesh from the new coronavirus passed 100 yesterday with 10 fresh fatalities in the last 24 hours, said a health official yesterday.

Prof. Nasima Sultana, a senior official at the Directorate General of Health Services, con-firmed during a regular online briefing that 492 new infections

were recorded after 2,779 samples were tested across the country.

So far, the virus has killed 101 people and infected 2,948 in the country, she said.

The Institute of Epidemi-ology Disease Control and Research, an authority under the Health Ministry, tested 26,604 samples out of a population of 160 million people until yesterday.

Meanwhile, the virus infection among doctors and healthcare personnel has been spreading rapidly raising deep concern. At least 57 nurses have been infected while 270 others are in quarantine across the country. One physician has died and at least 170 doctors have been infected as of Monday, as well. Dr Md Shahed Rafi Pavel, chairman of Bangladesh Doctors’ Foundation, said that at least 80

doctors got infected with COVID-19 in just three days.

“We don’t have proper pro-tective equipment as assured by the government. And, we have yet to receive standard face mask and personal protection equipment (PPE) in line with the guidance of the World Health Organisation. The quality of the face mask and PPE are sub-standard in quality condition.” Pavel complained that they

could not find quality protection equipment anywhere although talking to local hospitals and hospitals dedicated to COVID-19 treatment.

He urged the government to take prompt action to ensure the safety of healthcare workers.

The chairman also ruled out the statement by the Health Min-istry during the briefing of pro-viding quality face mask and PPE to health workers.

Myanmar ships

freed Rohingya

prisoners back

to RakhineAFP — SITTWE

Myanmar shipped hundreds of recently released Rohingya inmates back to the country’s restive western borderlands yesterday, after fears that its overcrowded prisons could become hotbeds for runaway coronavirus outbreaks.

Men, women and children belonging to the stateless and long-persecuted Muslim minority were among nearly 25,000 prisoners freed last week by a presidential pardon to mark the country’s April New Year celebrations.

A Navy vessel transported the group from Yangon to western Rakhine state, where most Rohingya live under tight movement restrictions.

11TUESDAY 21 APRIL 2020 ASIA

China calls for stronger testing regime to detect virus

REUTERS — BEIJING/SHANGHAI

China’s health authority called for a stronger and more rigorous testing regime to ensure that the new coronavirus does not escape detection, whether in travellers arriving from abroad or from other parts of the country.

All localities must improve their testing capabilities, including those at border crossings, and report any epi-demic information in a timely manner, the National Health Commission cited its director Ma Xiaowei as saying. Ma made the comments on Saturday, but they were released by the ministry yesterday. China, where the new virus emerged late last year, reported 12 new confirmed cases on Sunday, the lowest since March 13.

Despite the downtrend,

officials remain concerned about the re-emergence of local trans-missions in parts of the country, including Beijing, where a central district has been re-classified as high-risk following three recent local infections.

Ma singled out the provinces of Heilongjiang and Guangdong, saying they should identify the “weak links” in their ability to prevent and control the epidemic.

Of the 82 new local infections in China in the past 14 days, northeastern Heilongjiang province accounted for 42 and

southern Guangdong province for 30. The new local cases have been driven by an influx of Chinese nationals coming home from abroad, particularly in Hei-longjiang, which has seen a surge in citizens returning from Russia.

International flights to China have been slashed. In particular, flights to the Chinese capital have been diverted to other cities, some hundreds of kilometres away.

New local cases have also been due to people arriving from central Hubei province, ground zero of the coronavirus outbreak

in China, as well as infected people who until recently had shown no symptoms, such as a fever or a cough.

China might use experi-mental vaccines on some classes of people, such as medical workers, as early as by the end of this year, the state-controlled Beijing Daily newspaper cited Gao Fu, director at the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, as saying at a news conference.

China has approved at least three experimental coronavirus vaccines to be tested in human trials since the virus outbreak.

The southwestern Guangxi region yesterday further tightened already tough quar-antine rules to isolate potential virus carriers. All people entering Guangxi from overseas will be subject to 14 days of quarantine at a centralised location and a subsequent 14 days of self-quar-antine at home. They also need

to take two nucleic acid tests and one antibody test, according to a statement posted on the Guangxi health commission’s social media account.

Before entering Guangxi, people who have lived or trav-elled to areas classified as high-risk or medium-risk in China in the past 14 days must show neg-ative nucleic acid test results, and the tests must have been con-ducted within the past seven days.

People wearing face masks as they leave work during an evening rush hour amid the spread of the novel coronavirus, in Beijing yesterday.

China rejects Australia’s call for probe into virus response

AFP — BEIJING China yesterday rejected Australia’s call for a probe examining the global response to the coronavirus pandemic — including Beijing’s early handling of the outbreak.

Washington and several allies have accused China of failing to adequately respond to the viral disease threat in the weeks after it was first detected in the central city of Wuhan late last year.

Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said the accusations disrespected “the Chinese people’s tremendous efforts and sacrifices” in fighting the contagion.

“Any question about China’s transparency in the prevention and control of epidemic situation is not in line with facts,” Geng told a regular press briefing.

The new local cases have been driven by an influx of Chinese nationals coming home from abroad, particularly in Heilongjiang, which has seen a surge in citizens returning from Russia.

New Zealand to ease lockdown next weekAFP — WELLINGTON

New Zealand will ease a nationwide coronavirus lockdown next week after claiming success in stopping “an uncontrolled explosion” of the disease, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said yesterday.

“We have done what very few countries have been able to do,” Ardern said.

“We have stopped a wave of devastation.”

She said New Zealand

would move its maximum Level Four COVID-19 alert to Level Three from late evening yes-terday, April 27, and remain there for two weeks to assess the situation.

The announcement means businesses deemed safe can reopen, along with some schools, while limits on local travel are also relaxed and gatherings of up to 10 people allowed for events such as weddings or funerals.

While restrictions will be

loosened slightly, social dis-tancing rules will remain.

“I couldn’t feel prouder of the start we have made together but I also feel a huge responsibility to ensure that we do not lose any of the gains we have made either,” she said.

New Zealand entered a four-week lockdown in late March, which included closing the island nation’s borders, countrywide stay-at-home orders and shuttering all non-essential businesses and

services. The draconian measures made the country one of the most successful in containing the virus, with around 1,100 known cases among the five-million popu-lation, including 12 deaths and 974 recovered patients.

It had seven confirmed new infections yesterday.

Ardern said easing the lockdown would help the economy, which has been par-alysed by the virus response as companies close and job

losses mount, with forecasts that unemployment could sky-rocket to almost 26 percent.

The initial lockdown period was due to end on Wednesday night but Ardern said it was extended slightly to help ensure New Zealand would not need to return to Level Four again.

“The worst thing we can do for our country is to yo-yo between levels, with all of the uncertainty that this would bring,” she said.

Pakistan issues

new health policy

for air travel

INTERNEWS — ISLAMABAD

The Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority (PCAA) announced a new health policy for passengers travelling until April 30, amid the worsening coro-navirus crisis in the country.

According to the PCAA, all standard operating procedures (SOPs) mentioned in the health forms are to be strictly imple-mented. All passengers trav-elling by air are obligated to submit their health forms, which include information on flu, cold, cough, and sore throat. The form also states that pas-sengers should enter quarantine if the relevant health officer deemed it necessary.

Passengers are also bound to oblige if the quarantine period is extended and pay for food that officials advised. They are liable to penalties for pro-viding wrong or false infor-mation. The government, on the other hand, is required to provide accommodation according to the passengers’ preferences. Last week, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on National Security Moeed Yusuf said that beginning April 20, the government will be able to bring back 6,000-7,000 pas-sengers every week with oper-ations running across six airports.

“And this will gradually be expanded to accommodate more passengers,” said Yusuf.

He said that according to information received by the government, there are around 35,000 Pakistanis looking to return to the country.

“We will bring them back as soon as we can.”

The COVID-19 pandemic has so far infected more than 8,200 people across Pakistan and left over 160 dead.

Australian economistswarn govt against easingsocial distancing rulesREUTERS — SYDNEY

More than 150 Australian econ-omists yesterday warned the government against easing social distancing rules aimed at halting the spread of the new coronavirus even as the rate of infections slowed to a multi-week low.

Australia has so far avoided the high numbers of coronavirus casualties reported around the world after closing its borders and imposing restrictions on public movement.

While the measures have slowed the growth in new infec-tions to fewer than 40 new cases a day, the restrictions are expected to push unemployment to a 16-year high of about 10 prcent.

Australia has now recorded 6,617 cases of coronavirus and 71 deaths since the first case in late January.

With growing calls to ease the restrictions, leading Aus-tralian economists issued an open letter to call on the gov-ernment to prioritise containing the spread of coronavirus.

“We cannot have a func-tioning economy unless we first comprehensively address the public health crisis,” the group of 157 economists from Aus-tralian universities wrote.

Prime Minister Scott Mor-rison last week said there would no easing of Australia’s restric-tions for at least four weeks, and several state premiers yesterday urged the public to keep to the social distancing rules.

“We’ve all made massive sacrifices, given a lot. We can’t give back all the gains made because of sense of frustration gets the better of us,” Victoria state Premier Daniel Andrews told reporters in Melbourne.

Any significant easing of the current limitations would not occur until Australia had increased testing capacity, strengthened contact tracing and readied local responses for further outbreaks, Andrews said.

Central to the government’s strategy is a controversial new mobile phone app that will track users’ movements to allow contact tracing in the event of an outbreak of coronavirus.

The government said it will need at least 40 percent of the country’s population to be signed up to make it effective.

Australia’s three most pop-ulated states yesterday recorded just seven new coronavirus infections in the last 24 hours, stoking hopes that Canberra could even eradicate the virus.

While praising Australia’s

efforts, experts say eradication is unlikely. The government may ease some minor restrictions when the national Cabinet meets today.

Morrison said last week the Cabinet would consider ending a ban on elective surgeries, and the Australia’s main medical association yesterday said recent deliveries of protection

equipment would mean some procedures could restart.

“We’ve been so successful so far that that’s given us the opportunity now to plan a sen-sible, safe, graduated return into the low-risk procedures which provide clinical benefit to patients,” Tony Bartone, the head of Australian Medical Asso-ciation told Channel 7.

A police officer moves a stop sign at a vehicle checkpoint on the Pacific Highway on the Queensland-New South Wales border, in Brisbane, Australia.

Singapore reports record 1,426 new casesAP — SINGAPORE

Singapore reported a record 1,426 new coronavirus cases yesterday, mostly among foreign workers, pushing its total number of confirmed infections to 7,984.

The tiny city-state now has the highest number of cases in Southeast Asia, a massive increase from just 200 infections on March 15, when its outbreak appeared to be nearly under control. About 3,000 cases have been reported in just the past three days.

Low-wage migrant workers, a vital part of Singapore’s work-force, now account for at least 60 percent of its infections. More than 200,000 workers from Bangladesh, India and other

poorer Asian countries live in tightly packed dormitories.

The government expects cases to rise further as testing at the dorms continues, but hopes that the country’s partial lockdown until May 4, man-datory wearing of masks and strict social distancing will help curb the spread of the virus.

National Development Min-ister Lawrence Wong said on Sunday that many of the workers in the affected dormi-tories work in construction.

He said in a Facebook post that there was evidence that transmission across multiple dormitories could have occurred at work sites or at places where the workers con-gregate on their days off to shop and socialise.

Kazakh political activist detained forspreading false information freedREUTERS — ALMATY

A nationalist politician in Kazakhstan who has criticised the government was released yesterday after two days in detention on accusations of spreading false information during the coro-navirus emergency, his sister said.

Police detained political activist Arman Shorayev on Saturday and said the investigation involving him was ongoing. Officials have not said publicly whether he has been charged or what false information he was accused of spreading.

Shorayev’s sister Zhannar Shurayeva, who announced his release on Facebook, wrote on his behalf that the activist regretted publishing information that had not been fact-checked.

The former television executive turned nationalist politician has often criticised members of President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev’s cabinet. In recent Facebook posts and interviews, Sho-rayev accused senior officials of corruption and criticised the gov-ernment’s borrowing plans and the cost of building a specialised hospital for coronavirus patients. Last year, he became a member of the council of national trust, an advisery body set up by Tokayev, but was removed by the president this year along with several other members in what officials said was a planned rotation.

Medical personnel sort out medical supplies at a dormitory in Singapore, yesterday.

12 TUESDAY 21 APRIL 2020EUROPE

‘Encouraging signs’ as virus deathtoll in UK falls to two-week lowAFP — LONDON

The British government yesterday said there were “encouraging signs” that the coronavirus outbreak was easing but warned it was too early to lift the lockdown despite new evidence of the economic toll.

Some 16,509 people hospi-talised with COVID-19 in Britain have now died, new health min-istry figures showed, up by 449 — the lowest daily toll for a fortnight.

Health officials say the number of new cases is flat and figures for people in hospital in London, the epicentre of the out-break in Britain, continue to fall.

“There are encouraging signs that we are making progress,” Finance Minister Rishi Sunak told the government’s daily media briefing.

But “we are not there yet and it is very clear that, for now, what we should focus on is following the guidance, staying home”.

Britain went into lockdown at the end of March, with people told to stay indoors except for daily exercise and buying essentials.

Last week the measures were renewed for another three weeks, but there are concerns about the toll they are having on the economy.

Among several initiatives to

support firms hit by the lockdown, the government has offered to pay 80 percent of wages of staff who might oth-erwise face the sack.

Applications for the scheme opened yesterday, and more than 140,000 firms applied for help for more than one million people in just one day.

Sunak said: “The most important thing we can do for the health of our economy is to protect the health of our people.”

The daily death toll, which does not include deaths in the

community, including care homes, has been lower on Mondays due to weekend reporting delays.

But David Spiegelhalter, chairman of the Winton Centre for Risk and Evidence Commu-nication at the University of Cam-bridge, said separate new data just for England showed a clear improvement.

Data showing the day people

died, rather than when deaths were reported, “clearly shows we are in a steadily, but rather slowly, improving position since the peak of deaths 12 days ago”.

“But, judging from the expe-rience in Italy, this could be a lengthy process,” he said.

Britain is currently one of the hardest hit countries in the COVID-19 pandemic, and there is growing criticism of the gov-

ernment’s initial response.Sunak admitted there were

“things that we will learn from this” but insisted the government made the right decisions at the right time, guided by scientific evidence. Prime Minister Boris Johnson is still recovering after spending a week in hospital with the disease. The foreign minister, Dominic Raab, is deputising in his absence.

Medical staff wearing personal protective equipment at the back of an ambulance outside a hospital amid the spread of the coronavirus, in London yesterday.

Coronavirus infects more than 200,000 in SpainREUTERS — MADRID/AMOREBIETA

The new coronavirus has infected more than 200,000 people in Spain, although the spread of the disease is slowing, officials said yesterday, as the Supreme Court ordered the government to guar-antee that medical workers receive adequate protective equipment.

With 200,210 recorded infec-tions, Spain is second only to the United States in terms of con-firmed cases. The cumulative death toll from the virus rose to

20,852 after 399 fatalities were recorded in the previous 24 hours.

But Health Emergency Chief Fernando Simon told a news conference that the rate of new infections continues to fall despite an increase in testing, suggesting the overall prevalence of the disease could be lower than expected in the population.

“Fortunately occurrence is falling a lot, even more than we had thought,” he said.

In the northern Basque

region, an early hub of the out-break, ambulance worker Marisa Arguello de Paula said she had noticed that her patients appeared generally calmer as the situation improved.

“You tell them things are going better, that hospitals aren’t so overloaded, and even though they’re on their own, they come more quietly,” she said.

In response to a complaint brought by medical unions, Spain’s Supreme Court ordered the Health Ministry to take all measures within its power to

ensure health workers receive adequate protective equipment.

Medical professionals, who account for around 15.5 percent of the country’s coronavirus cases, had said that they were unable to access vital supplies like masks, gloves and surgical scrubs. Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said on Saturday he will seek parliamentary approval to extend the lockdown by two weeks to May 9, but will ease some of the restrictions.

After meeting with oppo-sition leader Pablo Casado, he

agreed to set up a cross-party parliamentary commission to address the social and economic damage wrought by the outbreak.

Dubbed the reconstruction committee, it will feature members of the main political parties as well as union leaders and public health experts.

The government is consid-ering allowing limited outings for children and for people to practise non-contact sports like jogging or cycling, health chief Simon said yesterday.

France registersover 20,000deaths from virusAFP — PARIS

France yesterday announced it had become the fourth country worldwide to register over 20,000 deaths from the novel coronavirus, after recording 547 new fatalities in the epidemic.

“Tonight, our country has passed a barrier that is symbolic and particularly painful,” top health official Jerome Salomon told reporters.

He announced that the coun-try’s total death toll was 20,265, while welcoming new falls in the numbers in hospital and intensive care.

Salomon noted that the coro-navirus death toll was now was well above the 14,000 people who died in France’s worst recent flu epidemic and even topped the 19,000 killed by the 2003 heatwave.

France is the fourth country to record more than 20,000 deaths, following the United States — by far the worst affected worldwide — Italy and Spain.

Its death toll includes 12,513 people who died in hospital and 7,752 people who lost their lives in old people’s homes and other nursing homes.

But Salomon also welcomed data indicating that a person with COVID-19 in France was now infecting on average fewer than one other person, as opposed to three before the country went into lockdown more than a month ago.

“This is how we will manage to put the brakes on the epi-demic,” he said.

The number of people in intensive care infected with COVID-19 fell for the 12th day in a row, by 61 patients to 5,863.

“The fall... is being confirmed but it remains very slight,” said Salomon. Meanwhile the number of patients in hospital fell by 26 — the sixth successive daily decrease — to 30,584.

France has been in lockdown since March 17 in a bid to slow the spread of the epidemic. But President Emmanuel Macron

announced last week that the lockdown could begin to be eased from May 11.

Schools could gradually reopen then but cafes, cinemas and cultural venues would remain closed, and there could be no summer festivals until mid-July at the earliest.

Unlike some European coun-tries, France has been giving daily tolls of deaths in nursing homes.

In one old people’s home in Mars-la-Tour in the northeastern Moselle region, 22 of 51 residents

out died from COVID-19 over the last two weeks, its director said.

In a press conference on Sunday, Prime Minister Edouard Philippe warned it would take a long time to defeat the epidemic, emphasising the initial easing would only be partial.

“Our life from May 11 will not be like our life before, not imme-diately, and probably not for a long time,” he said.

Salomon said data indicated less than 10 percent of the pop-ulation in France had been

infected with the virus, noting this meant there was going to be no herd immunity in the country on May 11.

“The levels of immunity are probably higher in the areas that have been worst affected,” he said.

“The collective immunity in France is low, as many other countries are indicating as well.” France has 114,657 confirmed cases, but officials say the real figure is much higher due to a lack of testing.

Medical staff wearing protective suits and face masks work in an intensive care unit for coronavirus disease patients at a hospital in Stains, near Paris, yesterday.

Novel coronavirus cases fall for first time in ItalyAFP — ROME

Italy reported its first drop yesterday in the number of people currently suffering from the novel coronavirus since it recorded its first infection in February.

Those receiving intensive care treatment also fell to the lowest level in a month as Europe’s hardest-hit country began to see the first direct health benefits of its economically dev-astating lockdown.

The civil protection service

said 108,237 people were either being treated in hospital or were recovering at home after testing positive -- 20 fewer than the total reported on Sunday.

“For the first time, we have seen a new positive development: the number of currently positive has declined,” civil protection service chief Angelo Borrelli told reporters.

“The number in intensive care is the lowest it has been in a month,” he added.

The Mediterranean country’s death toll still rose by 454 to

24,114 — second only to the United States.

However, the figures are widely regarded as benchmarks rather than actual tallies — most Italian doctors believe the numbers of deaths and infections are far higher than those officially reported.

Those who died at home or in care facilities are not included and some of the hardest-hit regions have only been testing the most sick patients.

Some experts believe the true extent of the damage caused by

the pandemic will be revealed in the number of excess deaths reg-istered in the past few months.

In northern Italy, where the outbreak first exploded, some provinces have seen their usual number of deaths over a single month increase by a factor of four or five even when the official virus tolls were relatively small.

But the decline in the number of current official cases still marks an important data point in Italy’s calculation of what restrictions to lift and which to extend when the current

lockdown expires on May 4. The economic and psycho-

logical toll of Italy’s six-week lockdown has also been hard to quantify.

Scientists are reportedly pushing the government to conduct psychological tests on a sample of the population to determine how long people can stay confined to their homes.

The Corriere della Sera newspaper said Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte will announce a new set of social guidelines this week that could include the tests.

Merkel issues

stark warning as

Germany begins

opening up

AFP — BERLIN

Chancellor Angela Merkel urged discipline in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic, warning that Germany is not “out of the woods” even as the country took small steps in easing curbs imposed to slow contagion.

With small shops opening yesterday for the first time in a month, Merkel said the authorities can only allow such small cautious steps each time to avoid a devastating relapse.

“We must not lose sight of the fact that we stand at the beginning of the pandemic and are still a long way from being out of the woods,” she told journalists after chairing a cabinet session on the coro-navirus battle.

It would be a “crying shame if we were to stumble into a relapse with our eyes wide open,” she added.

Merkel and regional state premiers announced the decision to reopen last week — but were careful to cast it as a cautious first step.

From florists to fashion stores, the majority of shops smaller than 800 square metres were allowed to welcome customers again in much of Germany, in a first wave of scaling back lockdown measures introduced last month.

But the government is facing increasing pressure from other sectors still facing curbs to move faster and let them get business back on track. Merkel said loosening restrictions too hastily could be counterproductive as the effects of the first steps would only be seen in two weeks.

Prince Philipthanks peoplefighting thepandemicREUTERS — LONDON

Prince Philip, the 98-year-old husband of Britain’s Queen Elizabeth, made a rare statement yesterday to thank those involved in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.

Philip, the Duke of Edin-burgh, has made few public appearances since he stepped down from official engagements in August 2017 and is currently staying with his wife at her Windsor Castle home during the outbreak of the virus.

“As we approach World Immunisation Week, I wanted to recognise the vital and urgent work being done by so many to tackle the pandemic; by those in the medical and sci-entific professions, at univer-sities and research institutions, all united in working to protect us from COVID-19,” he said.

“On behalf of those of us who remain safe and at home, I also wanted to thank all key workers who ensure the infra-structure of our life continues; the staff and volunteers working in food production and distribution, those keeping postal and delivery services going, and those ensuring the rubbish continues to be collected.”

Philip is the latest member of the royal family to issue a message to the nation since the country was put into a virtual lockdown in a bid to curb the spread of the virus.

Earlier this month, the queen made only the fifth tel-evised address of her record-breaking 68-year reign to tell Britons they would overcome the coronavirus outbreak if they stayed resolute, a message she repeated in an audio message at Easter.

The couple’s eldest son, 71-year-old heir Prince Charles who himself has recovered after suffering mild symptoms of COVID-19, has also thanked health staff for their work, saying it was a strange and dis-tressing time for the nation.

Some 16,509 people hospitalised with COVID-19 in Britain have now died, new health ministry figures showed, up by 449 — the lowest daily toll for a fortnight. Health officials say the number of new cases is flat and figures for people in hospital in London, the epicentre of the outbreak in Britain, continue to fall.

Time for nature tours

13TUESDAY 21 APRIL 2020 EUROPE

WHO insists it sounded virusalarm from start; hid nothingAFP — GENEVA

The World Health Organization (WHO) insisted yesterday that it sounded the alarm on the novel coronavirus right from the very start and had hidden nothing from Washington about the deadly pandemic.

WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghe-breyesus said there were no secrets at the UN agency after being blasted by the United States for allegedly down-playing the initial COVID-19 outbreak in China.

“We have been warning from day one that this is a devil that everyone should fight,” Tedros told a virtual briefing in Geneva.

The virus, which emerged late last year in the Chinese city of Wuhan, has so far infected more than 2.4 million people globally and killed more than 165,000.

The United States has by far the highest death toll of any country, at more than 40,000 fatalities, and Pres-ident Donald Trump has faced criticsm over his handling of the pandemic.

Washington is the biggest con-tributor to the WHO but Trump is freezing funding, alleging that the organisation mismanaged and covered up the spread the virus.

Tedros said the presence of

embedded US government secondees working at the WHO headquarters in Geneva meant there was nothing being concealed from Washington.

The WHO said there were 15 staff from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the US health protection agency, detailed specifically to work with the organisation on its COVID-19 response.

“Having CDC staff means there is nothing hidden from the US, from day one. Because these are Americans working with us. It just comes natu-rally and they tell what they are doing,” said Tedros.

“WHO is open. We don’t hide any-thing. Not only for CDC, them sending messages, or others -- we want all countries to get the same message immediately because that helps

countries to prepare well and to prepare quickly.”

The US State Department has said the WHO was too late in sounding the alarm over COVID-19 and is overly def-erential to China.

It questioned why it did not pursue a lead from Taiwan flagged up on December 31 about reports of atypical pneumonia in Wuhan

Debate has raged over the signif-icance of Taiwan’s email, which informed the WHO of the reports from Wuhan, and of at least seven patients being isolated -- something that would not be necessary for a non-infectious disease.

The United States said Thursday it was “deeply disturbed that Tai-wan’s information was withheld from the global health community, as reflected in the WHO’s January 14, 2020 statement that there was no indication of human-to-human transmission”.

But Tedros insisted that the WHO was already aware of reports ema-nating from Wuhan -- and said Tai-wan’s email was only seeking further information.

“One thing that has to be clear is the first email was not from Taiwan. Many other countries were already asking for clarification. The first report

came from Wuhan,” said Tedros. “Taiwan didn’t report any human-

to-human transmission,” he stressed. WHO emergencies director

Michael Ryan said the email made no reference to anything beyond what had already been reported in news media.

“Clusters of atypical pneumonia are not uncommon. There are millions of cases of atypical pneumonia around the world in any given year,” he explained.

Ryan said that the WHO tweeted

the existence of the event in Wuhan on January 4, and on January 5 provided “detailed information on the epidemic” which all countries could access.

Tedros also urged leaders not to exploit the pandemic for their own political capital.

“Don’t use this virus as an oppor-tunity to fight against each other or score political points,” he said.

“It’s like playing with fire. It’s the political problem that may fuel further this pandemic.”

Luxury Moscow clinic becomes coronavirus ‘battleground’AFP — MOSCOW

A small elderly woman lies curled up in bedsheets with an oxygen tube in her nose, coughing as doctors cocooned in white suits care for her.

In a nearby bed, an elderly man is on a ventilator. In another a woman in her 50s lies on her belly to improve her oxygen saturation.

This is the intensive care ward at a branch of Moscow’s K+31 private hospital. Until a week ago, it was a luxurious private clinic where you could get a nose job.

Yet as the capital shoulders the weight of Russia’s virus onslaught, with more than 26,000 cases,the facility has switched entirely to treating coronavirus patients.

“There’s not a single empty bed,” says chief doctor Boris Churadze. In the state-run hos-pital next door, where 500 patients are being treated, the situation is the same, he says.

He calls the virus fight a “battlefield,” where medics combat an invisible enemy with homicidal intentions.

The situation is set to

deteriorate in the next two or three weeks, he warns, pre-dicting “mid-May will be the absolute top of the peak.”

“I think we are talking about new cases multiplying day by day, five or 10-fold.”

The burly middle-aged man with curly ginger hair from Georgia came to Russia to study medicine and specialised in critical care.

The virus is a “major test for the health system, for Moscow’s medicine,” he says, vowing: “We will overcome it.”

Tens of thousands of beds have been made available in Moscow and the recent opening of large new virus hospitals “will allow us to better overcome this difficult situ-ation,” Churadze said.

Yet virus treatment at this facility is not accessible to most Muscovites.

It takes cash-paying patients or those with private health insurance and a course of treatment costs tens of thou-sands of dollars, Churadze says.

The private hospital group that owns it, Medinvest, also runs a much bigger coronavirus hospital for public health

patients. The entire hospital, including administrative floors, has been divided into “green” or clean and infectious “red” areas, including lifts.

To enter the “red zone”, medics put on full personal pro-tection, including goggles, hooded white suits, one or more masks, shoe coverings, and two pairs of gloves, helped by special staff. “It’s an absolutely new reality” for medics, Churadze said.

Doctors are kitted out with protective gear but getting hold of this equipment is a challenge,

Churadze says. “It’s a global problem.” “A black market for personal protective equipment has even appeared and a lot of people are making money from this.”

In the intensive care unit, doctor Sergei Sevalkin is helping treat a patient in her late 60s. “We’ve held out a week and now it’s a bit easier,” he says. “We have one patient in a serious condition who was transferred from another hos-pital.” Working for hours in a protective suit is one of the

hardest parts of treating virus patients, he says.

“After a shift you feel like ripping it off.”

Another doctor, Kamila Tuichiyeva, works to categorise new virus patients according to the seriousness of their con-dition. “The whole team has got used to things now and I think we’ve got into an even rhythm,” she says. Like many staff, she has moved into a hotel to avoid infecting family members, and plans to live there for the duration.

A man sits on the road during a demonstration to protest against the government and its measures to respond to the novel coronavirus pandemic on a roundabout at Adam Clark Square near the Prime Minister office, in Budapest yesterday.

Workers finishing construction of a new hospital for coronavirus patients outside the village of Golokhvastovo, some 60km southwest from the center of Moscow, yesterday.

Hungary hopes for ‘calm plan’ by May 3 on return to normal from lockdown

REUTERS — BUDAPEST

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban expects to present a plan early next month for a gradual return to normal from the coronavirus lockdown, national news agency MTI quoted him as saying yesterday.

MTI cited Orban as saying in an interview with Catholic Maria radio that by May 3, Hungary would be prepared to handle any rise in infections and that from that point onwards it could afford to seek ways to get back to normal, step by step.

“I will be able to talk about that on May 3 or 4 at the ear-liest, but I hope that by then, building on the experience of several other countries, I can present a calm... serious plan to the country,” Orban said.

Orban, who has been in power since 2010, said he expects the recession to be smaller than most observers have forecast, but that the rebound could be slower than the most optimistic projections.

There is little clarity about the impact of the crisis on Hungary’s economy.

Albania allows some businesses to resume amid virus clampdownAFP — TIRANA

Albania will allow some businesses to reopen to ease to the economic pain of a coronavirus clampdown that has wiped out tens of thousands of jobs in the Balkan state.

Firms in the agriculture, fishing, mineral, oil and textile sectors are among those permitted to reboot activity once they have received a certificate from the

health ministry, according to a list pub-lished on the government’s website.

Hotels that meet all required hygiene conditions will also be allowed to open their doors, though venues like restau-rants and beauty salons remain shuttered.

Under the new relaxed rules, busi-nesses must also respect a nightly 5:30 pm (1530GMT) curfew and “strictly” enforce social distancing measures for

employees, who must wear protective gear, the government said.

Albania was quick to shut down public and economic life after its first cases of the virus emerged on March 9.

Since then nearly all businesses except for food shops and pharmacies have gone dark while residents are only allowed outsided with authorisation.

According to government figures, the tight lockdown appears to have

staved off a major outbreak, with almost 600 known infections and 26 deaths from the virus in the country of 2.8 million. But the economic costs have piled up, as some 50,000 Albanians — around four percent of the official work-force — have lost their jobs, according to Ministry Economy.

A series of relief efforts are also costing the government some 540 mil-lions euros.

Poland detains Lebanese man suspected of ‘planning attacks’

AFP — WARSAW

Poland’s special services said yesterday they had detained a Lebanese citizen with suspected ties to the Islamic State (IS) group who allegedly planned to launch attacks in the country.

The man, whose identity was not made public, was detained on April 16 after being deemed “a real threat to Polish internal security and to our country’s citizens,” according to Stanislaw Zaryn, spokesman for Poland’s special services.

The suspect “was planning to set up a network in Poland and elsewhere in the EU that would carry out terror attacks in Western European coun-tries,” Zaryn said in a statement. He had “family ties to terrorists belonging to the so-called Islamic State who died in battle against the coa-lition forces in Syria and Iraq”, the statement added.

The man had apparently been in frequent touch via the internet with the Islamic State and other individuals linked to the group in EU member coun-tries while he was staying in Poland.

Skakavac Waterfall, located in Nature Preserve Skakavac, during Spring season in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. People prefer nature tours instead of crowded places within the coronavirus pandemic measures.

Portugal gears up for antibody tests, health authorities urge cautionREUTERS — LISBON

As Portugal prepares to ease its coronavirus lockdown, a number of cities and research organisations are rolling out antibody tests even though national authorities warn it may be too early to draw conclusions on immunity among the population as a whole.

Some countries see antibody tests as a way to determine if people have developed immunity through exposure to the coro-navirus, potentially allowing them to return to work. But virology experts are not yet certain what immunity such antibodies might provide.

“We can have antibodies after 15 days but they may not protect us. When we know more about these tests, they will be very useful,” says Graça Freitas, head of Portugal’s health directorate DGS.

Experts say Portugal was the last country in Western Europe to report a confirmed case of the coronavirus — on March 2 - meaning the virus is not yet widespread enough for mass testing to be worthwhile. The country has reported 20,863 confirmed cases and 735 deaths, much less than Spain.

Portugal hopes to gradually relax restrictions on schools, stores and cultural spaces from next month.

WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said there were no secrets at the UN agency after being blasted by the United States for allegedly downplaying the initial COVID-19 outbreak in China.

14 TUESDAY 21 APRIL 2020AMERICAS

Poisonings linked to disinfectants riseAP — NEW YORK

One toddler became dizzy, fell and hit her head after drinking from a large bottle of hand sani-tizer. A woman had a scary coughing and wheezing fit while soaking her produce in a sink containing bleach, vinegar and hot water.

Reports of accidental poi-sonings from cleaners and disinfectants are up this year, and researchers believe it’s

related to the coronavirus epidemic.

Such poisonings were up about 20 percent in the first three months of this year, com-pared with the same period in 2018 and 2019, according to a report yesterday from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The authors said they can’t prove coronavirus drove the increase, but said it seems likely the two are linked, given the

number of stay-at-home orders and guidance to clean hands and dirty surfaces.

They warned against using more cleaner than directed, mixing multiple products together or using them in poorly ventilated areas.

The report was based on more than 45,000 recent calls to 55 poison control centers across the country involving exposures to cleaning chem-icals or disinfectants.

US Supreme Court sayscriminal convictionsrequire unanimous juriesAP — WASHINGTON

The Supreme Court ruled yesterday that juries in state criminal trials must be unan-imous to convict a defendant, settling a quirk of constitutional law that had allowed divided votes to result in convictions in Louisiana and Oregon.

Justice Neil Gorsuch wrote for the court that the practice is inconsistent with the Constitu-tion’s right to a jury trial and that it should be discarded as a vestige of Jim Crow laws in Lou-isiana and racial, ethnic and reli-gious bigotry that led to its adoption in Oregon in the 1930s.

“In fact, no one before us contests any of this; courts in both Louisiana and Oregon have frankly acknowledged that race was a motivating factor in the adoption of their States’ respective nonunanimity rules,” Gorsuch wrote.

The justices’ 6-3 vote over-turned the conviction of Evan-gelisto Ramos. He is serving a life sentence in Louisiana for killing a woman after a jury voted 10-2 to convict him in 2016. Oregon is the only other state that allows for non-unanimous convictions for some crimes.

Louisiana voters changed the law for crimes committed beginning in 2019.

Now the same rules will apply in all 50 states and in the federal system: Juries must vote unanimously for conviction.

“We are heartened that the Court has held, once and for all, that the promise of the Sixth Amendment fully applies in Louisiana, rejecting any concept of second-class justice,” Ramos’ lawyer, Ben

Cohen, said in a statement. “In light of the COVID-19

crisis, it is essential that pris-oners who are wrongfully incarcerated be given the chance for release as soon as possible.”

The outcome will affect defendants who are still appealing their convictions. But for defendants whose cases are final, it will take another round of lawsuits to figure out whether the high court ruling applies to them.

The Supreme Court last took up the issue in 1972, when it ruled that nothing in the Constitution bars states from allowing some convictions by non-unanimous verdicts, even as it said that the Sixth Amendment requires unanimous verdicts in federal criminal cases. The case turned on the vote of Justice Lewis Powell.

The 1972 decision left the jury trial right as one of the few rights guaranteed by the first 10 amendments to the Consti-tution that does not apply uni-formly to the states as well as

the federal government. Last year, the court held that the Constitution’s ban on excessive fines applies to the states and the federal government alike.

“There can be no question either that the Sixth Amend-ment’s unanimity requirement applies to state and federal criminal trials equally,” Gorsuch wrote yesterday.

The decision produced an unusual lineup of justices, with lib-erals Stephen Breyer, Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Sonia Sotomayor and conservatives Brett Kavanaugh, Clarence Thomas and Gorsuch supporting Ramos.

Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Samuel Alito, two conservatives, were in dissent along with liberal Justice Elena Kagan.

That’s because a key part of the case was whether to jettison the 1972 decision, and over-turning precedent is a fraught issue on the current court, prin-cipally because the additions of Gorsuch and Kavanaugh have made the court more conserv-ative and, perhaps, more likely to undermine landmark abortion rights rulings.

Gorsuch, Sotomayor, Kavanaugh, Thomas and Alito addressed the issue of prec-edent in majority, dissenting and concurring opinions. Kavanaugh has said that prior decisions must be not just wrong but egregiously so. The 1972 decision, he wrote yes-terday, “is egregiously wrong.” Sotomayor said the old case was wrong both on the Sixth Amendment and in its igno-rance of the bigoted roots of allowing non-unanimous verdicts.

Healthcare workers eat lunch outside of Elmhurst Hospital amid the outbreak of the coronavirus disease in the Queens borough of New York, US, yesterday.

New York Mayor says lack of virustesting may delay reopening of cityREUTERS — NEW YORK CITY

Mayor Bill de Blasio said yesterday that it could take weeks if not months before the country’s most populous city reopens due to a lack of wide-spread testing, even as officials elsewhere began rolling back restrictions on daily life.

De Blasio, whose city is at the epicenter of the coronavirus crisis in the United States, said New York needed to be con-ducting hundreds of thousands of tests a day and to see hospi-talizations decline further before reopening the economy.

“We could get there but we can’t do it without widespread testing and so far the federal government still can’t get their handle on that,” de Blasio said on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” adding that ending social dis-tancing too soon could rekindle the virus.

“The federal government, especially, needs to get the memo that this thing ain’t over and if you pretend it’s over it is only going to boomerang back and make it worse.” De Blasio’s warning on testing echoed comments by several governors over the weekend disputing President Donald Trump’s claims that they have enough tests for COVID-19, the respi-ratory disease caused by the novel coronavirus.

The United States has by far the world’s largest number of confirmed coronavirus cases, with more than 750,000 infec-tions and over 40,500 deaths, nearly half of them in the state of New York, according to a tally.

Trump’s guidelines to reopen the economy recommend a state record 14 days of declining case numbers before gradually lifting restrictions. Yet the Republican

president appeared to encourage protesters who want to reopen sooner with a series of Twitter posts on Friday calling for them to “LIBERATE” Michigan, Min-nesota and Virginia, all run by Democratic governors.

An estimated 2,500 people rallied at the Washington state capitol in Olympia to protest Democratic Governor Jay Inslee’s stay-at-home order, one of several protests.

Residents in Florida were allowed to return to some beaches after Governor Ron DeSantis approved the relaxing of some restrictions.

Charlie Latham, mayor of Jacksonville Beach, said the first weekend the beach there was reopened with limited hours went well, with no arrests for people violating social dis-tancing rules, which included a prohibition of chairs or blankets.

Preventing people from crowding parks

A woman walks past a sign at a park telling people not to overcrowd after Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan reopened parks that were closed for weekend as efforts continue to help slow the spread of coronavirus in Seattle, Washington, US, yesterday.

Protests highlight growing US unease over coronavirus lockdownsREUTERS — WASHINGTON

The US debate intensified yesterday over when to lift restrictions to control the coro-navirus outbreak, with protesters gathering in state capitals to demand an end to lockdowns and officials urging caution until more testing becomes available.

Stay-at-home measures, which experts say are essential to slow the spread of the virus, have ground the economy to a virtual standstill and forced more than 22 million people to apply for unemployment ben-efits in the past month.

Demonstrations have flared in recent days across the country to demand an end to the lockdowns, with more planned yesterday. Thousands gathered outside the capitol building in Lansing, Michigan, last week to protest against Democratic Gov-ernor Gretchen Whitmer.

Tim Walters, who was part of a “Reopen Maryland” protest over the weekend in which hun-dreds of people drove through the state capital Annapolis, said concerns about the virus must be kept in perspective and weighed against the economic toll of lockdowns.

“There is a lot of frustration about who decides what is essential. And people are hurting,” said Walters, a man-agement consultant for a group he estimated had 20,000 members on Facebook.

Walters’ group is not associated with another protest planned in Annapolis yesterday.

In Pennsylvania, where Democratic Governor Tom Wolf has promised to veto a Republican-backed bill that would force him to reopen some businesses, a large protest was expected in the state capital Harrisburg.

“Anyone who has been impacted by this shutdown in a negative way is welcome and we want them to be heard regardless of their party affili-ation,” said Stephen LaSpina, an organizer of the protest. He added that protesters would be encouraged to stay in their cars and maintain social distancing.

President Donald Trump, a Republican seeking re-election in November, has said state governors should have the final say but has favored an early end to the lockdowns, and many protesters in the past week have sported pro-Trump signs and campaign gear.

Republican lawmakers in several states have also backed the protests. Joe Buchert, 48, a retired police officer who lives in Pottstown, Pennsylvania, attended the Harrisburg protest because he thinks the governor has overreached.

“The Democratic governors are just trying to kill the economy to hurt Trump,” said Buchert, who was wearing a red Trump 2020 hat.

Residents of NYC

county sue WHO

over pandemic

response

REUTERS — NEW YORK

Residents of a suburban New York City county that was one of the earliest US hot spots for the coronavirus sued the World Health Organisation yesterday, accusing it of gross negligence in covering up and responding to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In a proposed class action, three residents of Westchester County accused the WHO of failing to timely declare a pan-demic, monitor China’s response to the original out-break, provide treatment guidelines, advise members on how to respond including through travel restrictions, and coordinate a global response.

They also accused the WHO of conspiring with China’s gov-ernment, which was not named as a defendant, to cover up COVID-19’s severity. The WHO did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The lawsuit by Richard Kling and Steve Rotker, both of New Rochelle, and Gennaro Purchia, of Scarsdale, was filed in the federal court in White Plains, New York.

It seeks unspecified damages for what they called WHO’s “incalculable” harm to the roughly 756,000 adult res-idents in Westchester County who would make up the class.

Westchester is north of New York City, and last year had about 967,506 people, of whom roughly 78 percent were adults, according to the US Census Bureau.

Lawyers for the plaintiffs did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

New Rochelle became a hot spot after a lawyer who attended the Young Israel of New Rochelle synagogue was diagnosed with COVID-19 on March 2, the first person in the community to test positive.

Through April 18, a total of 242,786 people in New York had tested positive for the coronavirus, including 23,803 in Westchester, according to the state’s health department.

Congressional Black Caucus backs Biden’s White House bidAP — DETROIT

The Congressional Black Caucus PAC endorsed Joe Biden’s pres-idential bid yesterday, further cementing his support among the nation’s influential black political leadership.

The political action com-m i t t e e ’ s u n a n i m o u s endorsement came on the heels of several key nods of support among caucus

leadership and members, including civil rights icon Rep John Lewis of Georgia and caucus Chairwoman Karen Bass of California. The PAC is the caucus’ separate campaign arm.

“There’s no question that Joe Biden is badly needed by this country,” CBC PAC Chairman Gregory Meeks of New York said in an interview. “His leadership, his experience,

his understanding on how to get things done and his ability to work and pull people together is needed now more than ever. We need someone that is a healer and not a divider, and that’s Joe Biden.”

Biden, who is on the cusp of clinching the Democratic pres-idential nomination, had already scored key endorsements from 38 of the 54 members of the group, which is composed of

most African American members of Congress.

Black voters have long anchored the former vice pres-ident’s White House bid with overwhelming support in South Carolina, on Super Tuesday and in Midwestern states like Michigan.

But that was before the coronavirus pandemic dis-rupted the presidential race, forcing several states with

significant black populations, like Georgia, to postpone their primaries. African Americans have been disproportionately impacted by COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus.

Earlier this month, Biden joined a growing call for the release of comprehensive racial data on the coronavirus pan-demic, which he said has put a spotlight on inequity and the impact of “structural racism.”

The outcome will affect defendants who are still appealing their convictions. But for defendants whose cases are final, it will take another round of lawsuits to figure out whether the high court ruling applies to them.

15TUESDAY 21 APRIL 2020 AMERICAS

At least 18 dead in Nova Scotia shooting rampage

AP — TORONTO

A gunman disguised as a police officer went on a 12-hour rampage in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, shooting people in their homes, setting fires and killing at least 18 people, including a police-woman, in the deadliest mass shooting in the country’s history.

Officials said the suspect, identified as 51-year-old Gabriel Wortman, was also among the dead in the weekend attack. Police did not provide a motive for the killings.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the gunman killed at least 18 “The vast majority of Nova Scotians will have a direct link with one more of victims. The entire province and country is grieving right now as we come to grips with something that is unimagi-nable,” Trudeau said.

Trudeau asked the media to avoid mentioning the name of the assailant or showing his picture.

“Do not give this person the gift of infamy,” he said.

Police began advising

residents overnight on Saturday in the rural town of Portapique, about 60 miles north of Halifax, to lock their doors and stay in their basements.

Several bodies were later found inside and outside one home on Portapique Beach Road, the street where the suspect lived, authorities said.

Bodies were also found at several other locations within about a 30-mile area from the neighbourhood where the shootings began late on Saturday, and authorities believe the shooter may have targeted his first victims but then began attacking ran-domly. Several homes in the area were set on fire.

At least four white forensic vans were seen yesterday morning entering the neigh-bourhood where the shootings began.

Authorities said the sus-pected gunman wore a police uniform at one point and made his car look like a Royal Canadian Mounted Police cruiser.

“That fact that this indi-vidual had a uniform and a police car at his disposal

certainly speaks to it not being a random act,” Mounted Police Chief Superintendent Chris Leather said. He said many of the victims did not know the shooter and authorities believe he acted alone.

According to his high school yearbook, Wortman long had a fascination with the Mounties.”Gabe’s future may including being an RCMP officer,” the yearbook profile said.

The dead officer was

identified as Constable Heidi Stevenson, a mother of two and a 23-year veteran of the force. Another officer was wounded.

Also among the dead was school teacher Lisa McCully, who worked at a local ele-mentary school. Nova Scotia Teachers Union President Paul Wozney said. “Our hearts are broken along with those of her colleagues and students at Debert Elementary,” he said.

Two health care workers at

local nursing homes were also among those killed, according to Von Canada, a long term health care company, which identified them as Heather O’Brien, a licensed practical nurse, and Kristen Beaton, a continuing care assistant.

Wortman, who owned a denture practice in the city of Dartmouth, near Halifax, lived part time in Portatipique, according to residents of the town.

A Wentworth volunteer firefighter douses hotspots near destroyed vehicles linked to Sunday’s deadly shooting rampage in Wentworth Centre, Nova Scotia, Canada, yesterday.

Haitians say 3 deportees from US test virus positiveREUTERS — PORT-AU-PRINCE

Three migrants the United States deported two weeks ago to Haiti, on a flight that raised objections from human rights advocates, have tested positive for the novel coronavirus while in quarantine in the Caribbean country, a Haitian health ministry source said.

Several US lawmakers had also opposed the deportation flight to Haiti given the risk of spreading the virus further in the poorest country in the Americas, which is especially vulnerable to an outbreak.

At the point of the flight, the Caribbean nation had just 25 confirmed cases compared to more than 380,000 in its northern neighbour. It now has

47 but that number could rise swiftly.

A major outbreak of the novel coronavirus could be devastating for Haiti, which has around 100 ventilators for 11 million residents and where the healthcare system was already collapsing.

Haiti’s water and sanitation system are also in a shambles. While the government has closed borders and declared a state of emergency, many Hai-tians have continued to go about their daily lives as usual given they live hand to mouth and cannot afford to stay home. Around two thirds live under the poverty line.

“These people who were in quarantine were tested and three.... came back positive,” the

source said. It was unable to independently verify the information.

The Trump administration has pressured impoverished countries like Haiti and Gua-temala to keep receiving deported migrants despite growing concerns returnees are bringing the virus with them.

Forty-six Guatemalan migrants on two deportation flights from the United States last week also tested positive for the coronavirus, according to the Central American nation’s government.

The US Immigration and Customs Enforcement and State Department did not immediately reply to a request for comment on the Haitian cases.

With limited resources, Haiti faces a recession this year and has also been grappling with political instability and gang violence.

Authorities have so far carried out only 508 tests, according to the health min-istry, although it hopes to ramp up testing next month with the arrival of rapid tests.

The government this weekend extended the state of emergency for another month under which borders are closed, as are schools, universities and places of worship.

However it allowed textile industrial parks, which are one of its top sources of foreign cur-rency revenue, to restart today albeit only at 30 percent capacity.

Virus cases in

Ecuador top

10,000, doubling

about once a week

AGENCIES — QUITO

Ecuador reported over 10,000 cases of coronavirus yesterday, the fourth-highest tally in Latin America, as the disease ravages the economy of the oil-producing country.

The pandemic in recent weeks has overwhelmed san-itary authorities in the largest city of Guayaquil, the center of the Andean nation’s out-break, where corpses remained in homes or for hours on streets.

Ecuador recorded its first coronavirus case on February 29 and took 24 days to reach 1,000 cases. It took seven days for cases to double to 2,000, eight days to double to 4,000 and eight days to double again to 8,000, according to a Reuters tally.

The Andean nation has reported a total of 507 deaths, the health ministry said.

In Latin America, only Brazil, Peru and Chile have more cases.

President Lenin Moreno has proposed creating a humanitarian assistance fund that would collect five percent of the profits with reported revenue exceeding $1m in 2018, and would tax workers with monthly salaries of more than $500.

Those measures have been questioned by indigenous people, unions and business leaders.According to author-ities, there are still 1,000 tourists in the Galapagos, most of whom are Ecuadorians

About 1,500 other tourists were evacuated from the Gala-pagos islands earlier.

Tourism makes up 75 percent of the revenue for the archipelago — whose flora and fauna are unique throughout the world — bringing in about $110m per year.

Bolsonaro wants end to quarantine measures this weekREUTERS — SAO PAULO

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro said yesterday that he hoped this would be the last week of stay-at-home

measures to try to slow the spread of the coronavirus, wishing for an end to a policy he has branded an ill-founded jobs killer.

Speaking with supporters in

Brasilia, he also opposed the view of one who called for the coun-try’s supreme court to be shut, with Bolsonaro saying Brazil was a democratic country and the top court would remain open.

Bolsonaro is one of the few global leaders who has openly railed against lockdown measures to combat the corona-virus. He has doggedly asserted that the economic risks of shutting down Brazil’s economy outweigh the dangers posed by a disease he calls a “little cold.”

Despite Bolsonaro’s pro-tests, many of Brazil’s governors have more or less shut down their states, leading to an angry response from the president. Bolsonaro has also clashed with his own health officials, firing his popular health minister last week after they clashed over social distancing measures.

With Brazil’s coronavirus outbreak appearing to be a few weeks behind those in Europe and the United States, it is unlikely Brazil’s governors will end stay-at-home measures this week as the president wants.

In an interview last week, Rio de Janeiro’s state Health Secretary Edmar Santos said the peak of the outbreak will hit Rio in May, which would be a “very, very complicated” time.

Santos, who has been diag-nosed with COVID-19, the

potentially lethal respiratory disease caused by the corona-virus, said the curve in Rio was not yet flattening, despite measures imposed by Governor Wilson Witzel, who is also ill with the disease.

“At the beginning of May the red light will come on for the health system,” he said.

On Sunday, Bolsonaro irked many in Brazil when he once again attended a public rally and attacked lockdown measures meant to fight the coronavirus, as supporters of the right-wing leader joined political motor-cades around the country.

Brazil has more cases of the new coronavirus than any other country in Latin America. On Sunday, confirmed cases rose to 38,654 with 2,462 deaths.

Bolsonaro, who was not wearing a face mask, addressed a crowd of a few hundred in Brasilia. During his brief address, which was punctuated by the president coughing, he called those in attendance “patriots” and said they were helping defend individual freedoms that he said are under threat by lockdowns.

Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro gestures as he leaves Alvorada Palace, amid COVID-19 outbreak, in Brasilia yesterday.

Virus crisis ravages Brazilian Amazon city’s health systemAP — RIO DE JANEIRO

After more than a week suffering a cough and fever — potential signs of COVID-19 — Maria do Espírito Santo went to a hospital in Manaus, Brazil’s biggest city in the Amazon rain forest. There were no beds available, just a plastic chair, so her family took her home.

The next day they brought her to an emergency care unit, where she was admitted and put on a gurney, said Isabelle

Noronha, a 32-year-old relative, who waited outside for hours along with other patients’ anxious loved ones milling about in the darkness.

By then, the 67-year-old woman was in serious condition and waiting for an intensive-care unit bed to free up. After 11 hours, an ambulance trans-ferred her late Friday to a hos-pital, but she was put in its infirmary rather than its ICU. On Sunday, she remained in serious condition, breathing with the

help of oxygen through a tube. She has been tested for COVID-19 and is awaiting the results.

Manaus’ health care system, already strained before the coronavirus crisis, is buckling under the current onslaught of coronavirus patients. Venti-lators are in critically short supply, doctors bemoan a lack of protective gear, and gravediggers increasingly have their hands full.

Amazonas state had more

than 2,000 confirmed COVID-19 cases as of Sunday, the vast majority in Manaus - the only city in the state with intensive care units. The city of 2.2 million has one of the highest rates of infection in Brazil, where more than 38,600 cases have been confirmed, though experts say the total greatly under-represents the true number of infections.

A video shot inside the city’s João Lúcio Hospital and circu-lated on social media this week

showed body bags on gurneys in the hallway as well as on beds alongside patients undergoing treatment.

The concern is that Manaus could provide a grim glimpse of what lies ahead for Brazil, par-ticularly as President Jair Bol-sonaro flouts health experts’ recommendations for people to stay home to contain the virus’ spread, and instead tells citizens to get back to work. In cities like Manaus that have a dearth of equipment and ICU beds, lack

of compliance with measures for social distancing is pushing the health care system to its breaking point.

Bolsonaro has repeatedly referred to COVID-19 as just a “little flu” and called for con-fining only “high-risk” Bra-zilians because broader restric-tions would cause too much economic damage. On Friday, he replaced his health minister with an oncologist who has made a career on the business side of health care.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the gunman killed at least 18. “The vast majority of Nova Scotians will have a direct link with one more of victims. The entire province and country is grieving right now."

‘Mexico cannot

stop drug cartels

from handing out

coronavirus aid’

AP — MEXICO CITY

Mexico’s President acknowl-edged yesterday that drug cartels have been handing out aid packages during the coro-navirus pandemic, and called on them to stop.

President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said such handouts have occurred “in several places,” but said the government can’t stop the practice.

“It is something that happens, it cannot be avoided,” López Obrador said.

“I don’t want to hear them saying, ‘we are handing out aid packages,’” he said. “No, better that they lay off, and think of their families, and themselves, those that are involved in these activities and who are listening to me now or watching me.”

Videos posted on social media have shown one of the daughters of imprisoned drug lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman handing out boxes of rice, pasta, cooking oil and toilet paper with Guzman’s image printed on them.

In the past, drug cartels have tried to gain the sym-pathy of local populations with handouts. For example, López Obrador noted, fuel theft gangs that drilled taps into pipelines would often leave small amounts of gasoline and diesel for local farmers, to gain their support.

And in northern Mexico, the Gulf cartel and the Northeast cartel have reportedly handed out aid.

López Obrador has sought to avoid open confrontation with drug cartels, opting instead for long-term solutions like job creation, scholarships and job training to reduce the number of recruits available to the cartels.

Yesterday, he adopted a similar tone. “I don’t rule out that there are people in the gangs who are becoming con-scious, because I don’t think you can spend your life always watching your back, worrying about another gang, going from one place to another, because you could get elimi-nated, that is no life at all,” said López Obrador.

16 TUESDAY 21 APRIL 2020MORNING BREAK

Finland opera-singing cop spreads message of love under lockdownAFP — HELSINKI

A police officer in the northern Finland has hit on a novel way to help the public weather the coronavirus (COVID-19) lockdown, using his singing talent to lift spirits and going viral in the process.

A video of senior constable Petrus Schroderus singing a Finnish version of the Soviet classic song “I love you, life” as he walks the deserted streets of Oulu, a town just 200km (125 miles) south of the Arctic Circle, has quickly amassed more than a million views on YouTube.

“I wanted to sing something that I really feel helps my own heart,” the classically trained tenor said, adding that he wanted to offer “some kind of comfort” to people who are incapacitated and alone during the coronavirus crisis.

The song promises that “The night will end, the morning will come, when the bright new day arrives.”

Within 24 hours of posting

the video last Friday, Schro-derus was “flabbergasted” to receive a thousand messages of appreciation, from around Europe, Russia, Australia and the US, “even if they don’t understand the lyrics.”

“There’s just something about that song,” he reflected. “One young girl wrote that she was hospitalised, that she watched my video and cried,” Schroderus said, adding that he has tried to reply to every contact.

Since late March, schools in Finland have been closed to older children and gatherings of more than 10 people banned as authorities try to stem the spread of the new coronavirus, which has led to 94 deaths in the country so far.

Schroderus says that apart from the occasional group of youngsters who need to be dis-persed, the residents of Oulu have followed the rules well, and the bigger problem is the lockdown’s impact on people’s mental state.

The long-serving officer

took a break from policing 22 years ago to study under one of the country’s most renowned opera teachers, Esko Jurvelin, before singing for the Finnish National Opera for seven years.

Schroderus returned to the

force in 2012, but has kept up his singing on the side, per-forming up to 40 concerts a year.

His police colleagues are nothing but supportive, Schro-derus said, and although he keeps his police work separate,

he sang a theme from Jean Sibe-lius’s symphonic poem, “Fin-landia”, in uniform in a 2017 video to mark the centenary of Finnish independence.

A recording deal is now in the works, “but I can’t say any more about that,” he said.

A person watching on a laptop the Youtube video by Oulu Police Department, in which senior constable Petrus Schroderus sings a Finnish version of the Soviet classic song “I love you, life” in a deep operatic tenor as he walks in Oulu.

Interstellar 2I/Borisov is no ordinary cometREUTERS — WASHINGTON

Scientists have discovered that a comet called 2I/Borisov — only the second interstellar object ever detected passing through the solar system — is surpris-ingly different in its composition from comets hailing from our celestial neigh-borhood.

Gas coming off 2I/Borisov contained high amounts of carbon monoxide — far more than comets formed in our solar system — indicating the object had large concentrations of carbon monoxide ice, researchers said on Monday.

Carbon monoxide, poisonous to humans, is common as a gas in space and forms as ice only in the most frigid locations. The presence of so much carbon monoxide, the researchers said, suggests 2I/Borisov formed in a different manner than comets in our solar system - in a very cold outer region of its home star system or around a star cooler than the sun.

Comets essentially are dirty snow-balls composed of frozen gases, rock and dust that orbit stars.

“We like to refer to 2I/Borisov as a snowman from a dark and cold place,” said planetary scientist Dennis Bodewits of Auburn University in Alabama, lead author of one of two 2I/Borisov studies published in the journal Nature Astronomy.

“Comets are left-over building blocks from the time of planet formation. For the first time, we have been able to measure the chemical composition of such a building block from another plan-etary system while it flew through our own solar system,” Bodewits added.

The comet, detected in August 2019 by amateur astronomer Gennady Borisov and estimated to be about six-tenths of a mile (1km) wide, has zoomed through interstellar space after being ejected from its original star system.

It was born long ago in a rotating disc of gas and dust surrounding a newly formed star in a place that must have been rich in carbon monoxide, Bodewits said. That star may have been what is called an M-dwarf, far smaller and cooler than the sun and the smallest type of star that is known, Bodewits said.

Scientists initially concluded last year that 2I/Borisov was similar to comets from our solar system, but data from the Hubble Space Telescope and an observ-atory in Chile revealed its differences.

The researchers also found an abun-dance of hydrogen cyanide at levels similar to comets from our solar system.

“This shows that 2I/Borisov is not a completely alien object, and confirms some similarity with our ‘normal’

comets, so the processes that shaped it are comparable to the way our own comets formed,” said Martin Cordiner, an astrobiologist working at Nasa’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Mar-yland and lead author of the other study.

The only other interstellar visitor dis-covered in our solar system was a cigar-shaped rocky object called ‘Oumuamua spotted in 2017.

An artist’s impression of the interstellar comet 2I/Borisov travelling through our solar system, yesterday.

Facebook-powered coronavirus ‘heat map’ unveiledAFP — WASHINGTON

Researchers yesterday unveiled a coronavirus “heat map” powered by Facebook data which is aimed at helping track the spread of the disease and plan for reopening society.

The Carnegie Mellon Uni-versity project offers “real-time indications of COVID-19 activity not previously available from any other source,” according to a university statement.

The map was developed with millions of responses to

surveys of Facebook and Google users as part of an effort to monitor the spread of the virus.

Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg said the heat map, currently available for the United States, was being expanded globally with help from University of Maryland research teams.

“As the world fights COVID-19 and countries develop plans to reopen their societies, it’s critical to have a clear under-standing of how the disease is spreading,” Zuckerberg wrote

on his Facebook page and in the Washington Post.

“With a community of bil-lions of people globally, Facebook can uniquely help researchers and health authorities get the information they need to respond to the outbreak and start planning for the recovery.”

Carnegie Mellon researchers said they are receiving about one million responses per week from Facebook users, and have also gotten some 600,000 from Google users.

“Using these and other

unique data sources, the CMU researchers will monitor changes over time, enabling them to forecast COVID-19 activity several weeks into the future,” the research team said.

The research uses responses to Facebook surveys about symptoms people are experi-ences, with data controlled by university team and not shared with the social network.

The scientists also rely on anonymized data from Google and other partners on symptoms and search queries.

“The survey asked people if they have symptoms such as fevers, coughing, shortness of breath or loss of smell that are associated with COVID-19,” Zuckerberg said.

“Since experiencing symptoms is a precursor to becoming more seriously ill, this survey can help forecast how many cases hospitals will see in the days ahead and provide an early indicator of where the outbreak is growing and where the curve is being successfully flattened.”

With bees on decline, mechanical pollination may be the solutionREUTERS – TEL ARAD

A mechanical hum replaced the buzzing of the bees in one Israeli community this season as farmers, concerned over the global drop in bee populations, tried out a new method of pollinating their crops.

Through an almond orchard in the area of Tel Arad in a desert plain in southern Israel, a tractor pulled a mast equipped with about a dozen small cannon that fired precise shots of pollen at the trees, enabling them to fertilize.

The job is usually done by natural pollinators — most often bees — but

there has been a drastic fall in bee numbers around the world, largely due to intensive agriculture, the use of pes-ticides and climate change.

Most crops rely on pollination, so the trend has worried groups like the UN Food and Agriculture Organization as it looks to fight hunger in the growing human population.

“We see a crisis in 15 years where we don’t have enough insects in the world to actually do pollination and most of our vitamins and fruits are gone,” said Eylam Ran, CEO of Edete Precision Technologies for Agriculture.

His company says its artificial pol-

linator can augment the labours of – and eventually replace — bees.

Its system mirrors the work of the honey bee, beginning with a mechanical harvest of pollen from flowers and ending with a targeted dis-tribution using LIDAR sensors, the same technology used in some self-driving cars.

Edete has been working on a small-scale trial in several orchards in Israel and Australia, and has agree-ments to do the same in the United States.

The company hopes to scale up and be ready to sell its products on the market in the yearr 2023.

A tractor pulls a mast equipped with small cannons that shoot pollen at almond trees, allowing them to fertilise without bees in an Almonds grove in Tel Arad, southern Israel.

Farm rents out

miniature donkey

to crash video calls

AP — INDIAN TRAIL

A miniature donkey named Mambo is getting some online love in North Carolina, where a farm is getting in on the idea of having animals spice up tedious virtual meetings during the pandemic.

Peace N Peas Farm will rent Mambo, the 8-year-old miniature donkey, and his friends to crash company con-ference calls, The Charlotte Observer reported. This camera crowding donkey is “like a pesky little brother” that “doesn’t let anyone relax too long,” Francie Dunlap, Mambo’s owner, said. Com-panies can choose other farm animals they want to invite as guests on their video calls.

“I think it would get some laughs,” Dunlap said. Cus-tomers can reserve 10 minutes with the animals for $50, and co-workers can also choose a virtual meeting name for the farm animal.

Actor Idris Elba &

wife recovering

from coronavirus,

to help others

AP — LONDON

Even though they only had mild symptoms, Idris Elba said he and his wife had their lives “turned around” after contracting the coronavirus, calling the experience “defi-nitely scary and unsettling and nervous.”

“You know, everyone’s sort of feeling the way we have been feeling, but it has defi-nitely been sort of just a com-plete upheaval,” he said.

But the British actor feels that there are life lessons to be learned, and the pandemic serves as a reminder that “the world doesn’t tick on your time.”

“I think the world should take a week of quarantine every year just to remember this time. Remember each other. I really do,” he said.

The British actor and his model wife, Sabrina Dhowre Elba began a push with the UN to lessen the impact of COVID-19 on farmers and food producers in rural areas.

“People forget that 80 percent of the poor population live in these rural areas.” Dhowre Elba said. “What we are really worried about at the moment, and why we are launching this fund is that those people are being forgotten.”

In their new roles as UN Goodwill Ambassadors, Elba and his wife, have joined forces with the United Nations International Fund for Agri-cultural Development (IFAD) to launch the new $40m fund. IFAD hopes to raise up to $200 million more from govern-ments worldwide.

FAJR SUNRISE 03.46 am 05.06 am

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Partly cloudy to cloudy with a chance of scattered rain maybe thundery at places and slight dust at times.

Minimum Maximum24oC 29oC

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