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Vietnam donates medical supplies to Russia, the United States, and Japan to combat the pandemic.
On the afternoon of April 16th, a ceremony was held at the Government Office headquarters to present medical supplies donated by the Government and people of Vietnam to support the Governments and people of Japan, the United States, and Russia in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Vietnamese government donated face masks and medical supplies manufactured in Vietnam to the Japanese government, with a total value of US$100,000; and donated 200,000 antibacterial fabric face masks manufactured in Vietnam to the government and people of the United States. Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc also donated 50,000 medical face masks each to the Office of the President of the Russian Federation, the Cabinet Office of Japan, and the White House (United States).
65% of COVID-19 cases in Vietnam have recovered.
In the past 12 hours, Vietnam has not recorded any new cases of COVID-19. To date, Vietnam has recorded 268 cases of COVID-19, of which 160 are imported cases (60%) and 108 are community transmissions (40%).
Regarding treatment, on April 16th, Vietnam announced that 5 more patients had recovered. Thus, to date, a total of 177 patients out of 268 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Vietnam have been declared recovered (representing 65%).
On the same day, April 16th, the Hanoi Department of Health announced that nearly 10,000 test samples from the Ha Loi outbreak site in Me Linh commune, Me Linh district, had tested negative for SARS-CoV-2.
EVN reduces electricity bills due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Vietnam Electricity Group (EVN) has officially implemented electricity pricing for customers affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, in accordance with the Ministry of Industry and Trade's resolution on supporting electricity price reductions and bill reductions for customers affected by the pandemic.
Accordingly, the estimated support amount is approximately 11,000 billion VND, covering 100% of residential electricity customers, equivalent to 26.6 million households, who will receive a 10% reduction in electricity prices for the first four tariff tiers. In addition, more than 2 million manufacturing and business customers will also receive a 10% reduction in retail electricity prices. Customers who are tourism accommodation establishments meeting the conditions of the 2017 Tourism Law will also be able to switch from business to production rates. Hospitals, medical facilities treating COVID-19 patients, and centralized quarantine areas will also receive electricity bill exemptions or reductions for a period of three months.
Ha Giang province locks down Pin Tung village and isolates Dong Van General Hospital.
Immediately after receiving notification of patient number 268 (BN268), a Hmong ethnic resident of Pin Tung village (Pho La commune, Dong Van district, Ha Giang province) who contracted COVID-19, the People's Committee of Ha Giang province proceeded to blockade Pin Tung village and simultaneously quarantine Pho Bang General Clinic and Dong Van District General Hospital.
Patient number 268 is currently being monitored and treated at the isolation area of Dong Van District General Hospital. According to a report from the Ha Giang Department of Health, patient number 268 has been experiencing shortness of breath for the past two days.
Three Southeast Asian countries have over 5,000 Covid-19 cases.
As of April 16th, three countries in Southeast Asia had more than 5,000 cases of SARS-CoV-2 infection, with the Philippines having the highest number at 5,660. Indonesia followed closely behind, confirming an additional 380 cases on April 16th, bringing the total number of infections in this Southeast Asian nation to 5,516. Also on April 16th, Malaysia recorded an additional 110 SARS-CoV-2 infections, raising the total number of cases in the country to 5,182.
South Korea allocates over $6 billion in additional aid to help citizens cope with the COVID-19 pandemic.
The South Korean Ministry of Finance has announced a second supplementary budget of 7.6 trillion won (US$6.3 billion) to support households in the country facing economic hardship due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Along with budgets from local governments, the government will spend a total of 9.7 trillion won on this one-time relief package for 14.78 million households, representing approximately 50% of all households nationwide.
South Korea is holding elections during a sensitive period.
Accordingly, each household with four or more members belonging to the 70% lowest income group will receive a subsidy of 1 million won (approximately 817 USD). The subsidy amounts for households with one, two, and three members in this group are 400,000 won, 600,000 won, and 800,000 won, respectively. The subsidies will be in the form of shopping vouchers and gift certificates.
Japan declares a nationwide state of emergency due to the COVID-19 outbreak.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has decided to declare a nationwide state of emergency in an effort to combat the COVID-19 respiratory disease outbreak. Prefectural and city governments will have the authority to order schools and many businesses to close until the end of the Golden Week holiday, which is May 6th. This marks the first time a nationwide state of emergency due to an epidemic has been declared in Japan.
Australia maintains social distancing measures for at least another four weeks.
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison affirmed that the country will maintain restrictions for at least another four weeks to combat the COVID-19 respiratory disease outbreak, despite signs that the spread of the disease has slowed down.
Mr. Morrison added that in May, Australia will expand testing, increase its capacity to trace contacts of COVID-19 cases, and plan for responding to new outbreaks.
COVID-19 infections are rising sharply in Middle Eastern and African countries.
The COVID-19 pandemic has now spread to 210 countries and territories. Every day, countries in the Middle East and North Africa are recording hundreds of new cases.
The Turkish Ministry of Health announced on April 16 that the country had recorded an additional 4,801 cases of SARS-CoV-2 infection in the past 24 hours, bringing the total number of infections to 74,193, while the number of deaths increased by 125 to 1,643.
On the same day, the Saudi Arabian Ministry of Health confirmed 518 new cases of SARS-CoV-2 infection and 4 deaths due to COVID-19 in the country. The COVID-19 situation in the Middle East continues to escalate rapidly, with new cases in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Qatar, Israel, and Palestine reaching 460, 392, 257, and 376 respectively.
Meanwhile in Africa, Algerian health officials reported 108 new cases and 12 deaths from COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, bringing the total number of infections and deaths to 2,268 and 336 respectively. In Egypt, the Ministry of Health also announced 155 new cases of COVID-19 and 5 additional deaths, raising the total number of cases in Egypt to 2,505 and the number of deaths to 183.
Europe remains the "epicenter" of the storm.
With a total of 90,180 deaths from coronavirus infection out of approximately 1,047,279 people infected, Europe has become the continent hardest hit by the Covid-19 pandemic worldwide to date.
Spain is currently the second-largest epicenter of the pandemic globally, with 19,130 deaths recorded as of April 16th. In the past 24 hours, Spain reported 551 additional COVID-19 deaths and 5,183 new cases, bringing the total number of cases in the country to 182,816. However, Italy is showing signs of slowing down with 165,155 COVID-19 cases, including 21,645 deaths, surpassing France (147,863 cases and 17,187 deaths), Germany (135,549 and 3,850), and the UK (103,093 and 13,729).
Russia also reported 3,448 new cases of the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, bringing the total number of COVID-19 cases in the country to 27,938. The Russian COVID-19 crisis response center said that 34 patients died in the past 24 hours.
On the same day, British Health Minister Matt Hancock announced that the COVID-19 pandemic in the UK had begun to peak and affirmed that it was still too early to lift the lockdown if the government eased social distancing measures.
The World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Director for Europe, Hans Kluge, emphasized that Europe remains the "epicenter" of the pandemic as the number of infections across the continent continues to rise. In the past 10 days, the number of infections in Europe has almost doubled, nearing 1 million.
He opened the doors of the second field hospital.
The UK has opened a field hospital for COVID-19 patients at Birmingham's exhibition centre. The Nightingale Hospital, part of the National Health Service (NHS), with 500 beds and the capacity to expand to 1,500, was set up inside the National Exhibition Centre (NEC) in just eight days.
This is the second of seven field hospitals being set up across the UK to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic. The first, a 4,000-bed field hospital, was established in nine days at the ExCel Exhibition Centre in London and became operational on April 5th.
Italy is cautiously easing lockdown restrictions.
On April 14, Italy cautiously eased lockdown restrictions on certain economic sectors such as bookstores and stationery shops, children's clothing stores, and electrical repair shops.
The government has called the gradual reopening of the economy, which has been severely impacted by the pandemic, "Phase Two," which involves slowly resuming economic activity while reorganizing public spaces for better protection, such as continuing to require social distancing and the wearing of masks and gloves in public. The government plans to lift the lockdown on May 3rd.
The US recorded nearly 30,000 new cases of COVID-19.
The United States continues to lead the world in the number of people infected and dying from COVID-19. As of the morning of April 17, the US recorded an additional 29,053 cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, bringing the total number of cases to 677,056. The country also recorded 34,580 deaths, an increase of 2,137.
In California, the government has allowed food industry workers, who play a vital role during the pandemic, to receive an additional two weeks of paid sick leave if they are affected by the virus or quarantine orders.
New York extends lockdown due to COVID-19 pandemic.
Governor Andrew Cuomo decided on April 16 to extend the lockdown in New York State until May 15, despite the number of COVID-19 deaths in the past 24 hours being at its lowest level in 10 consecutive days. The number of deaths in New York State on April 16 was 606, 146 fewer than the previous day.
Governor Cuomo argued that the number of cases needs to decrease significantly before lockdown restrictions can be eased. As a result, seven states in the northeastern United States have announced extensions of their lockdowns.
Mexico extends social distancing measures until the end of May.
The Mexican government has decided to extend social distancing measures until May 30th. Mexico's Deputy Health Minister, Hugo Lopez-Gatell, stated that the severity of the COVID-19 pandemic varies across different regions. Authorities continue to urge citizens to stay home, avoid unnecessary outings, and refrain from traveling to areas with high infection rates, such as Mexico City, Estado de Mexico, and Puebla.
Previously, on March 30, the Mexican government declared a national health emergency. Health authorities predicted that the peak of the epidemic in Mexico would occur between May 8 and 10, and that the first cycle of the epidemic could end by the end of June 2020, when 95% of cases would be identified.
Saudi Arabia allocates $500 million to international efforts to combat Covid-19.
Saudi Arabia has just announced the allocation of $500 million to international organizations to respond to the Covid-19 pandemic. This funding will support Covid-19 prevention efforts, including research into vaccines against the disease. This donation is in line with a commitment made when Saudi Arabia held the G20 presidency this year.
Accordingly, Saudi Arabia will allocate $150 million to the "Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations," $150 million to the Global Alliance for Vaccine and Immunization Research, and $200 million to other international organizations and programs.
