Vietnam donates anti-epidemic medical supplies to Russia, the United States, and Japan
On the afternoon of April 16, the ceremony to present medical supplies from the Government and people of Vietnam to support the Government and people of Japan, the United States and Russia to prevent and fight the COVID-19 epidemic took place at the Government Office headquarters.
The Vietnamese Government presented the Japanese Government with masks and medical supplies made in Vietnam with a total value of 100,000 USD; and presented the US Government and people with 200,000 antibacterial cloth masks made in Vietnam. Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc also presented 50,000 medical masks each to the Russian Presidential Office, the Japanese Cabinet Office, and the White House Office (USA).
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 people came from abroad (accounting for 60%), 108 people were infected in the community (40%).
Regarding the treatment situation, on April 16, Vietnam had 5 more patients announced to be cured. Thus, up to now in Vietnam, there have been a total of 177 patients out of 268 COVID-19 cases announced to be cured (accounting for 65%).
On the same day, April 16, the Hanoi Department of Health announced that nearly 10,000 test samples at the Ha Loi outbreak, Me Linh commune, Me Linh district had negative results for SARS-CoV-2.
EVN reduces electricity bills due to COVID-19 pandemic
Vietnam Electricity (EVN) has officially implemented electricity price reduction for electricity customers affected by the COVID-19 epidemic according to the Resolution of the Ministry of Industry and Trade on supporting electricity price reduction and electricity bill reduction for electricity customers affected by the epidemic.
Accordingly, the expected support amount is about 11,000 billion VND, including 100% of customers using electricity for daily life, equivalent to 26.6 million households, all of whom will receive a 10% reduction in electricity prices for the first four levels. In addition, more than 2 million production and business customers will also receive a 10% reduction in retail electricity prices. Customers who are tourist accommodation establishments that meet the conditions of the 2017 Tourism Law will also be able to convert from business prices to production prices. Hospitals, medical facilities treating COVID-19 and concentrated quarantine areas will also be exempted from or have their electricity bills reduced for a period of 3 months.
Ha Giang locked down Pin Tung village and isolated Dong Van General Hospital.
Immediately after receiving notice of patient number 268 (BN268), a Mong ethnic resident in Pin Tung village (Pho La commune, Dong Van district, Ha Giang province) infected with COVID-19, the People's Committee of Ha Giang province locked down Pin Tung village and quarantined Pho Bang General Clinic and Dong Van District General Hospital.
Patient 268 is currently being monitored and treated at the Isolation Area of Dong Van District General Hospital. According to the report of the Ha Giang Department of Health, patient 268 has been experiencing difficulty breathing for the past two days.
3 Southeast Asian countries have over 5,000 Covid-19 infections
As of April 16, in Southeast Asia, there are 3 countries with the number of people infected with SARS-COV-2 virus at over 5,000 cases, of which the Philippines has the most with 5,660 cases. Indonesia followed immediately with the confirmation of 380 more Covid-19 cases on April 16, bringing the total number of infections in this Southeast Asian country to 5,516. Also on April 16, Malaysia recorded 110 more SARS-CoV-2 infections, bringing the total number of infections in this country to 5,182.
South Korea adds more than 6 billion USD to support people to cope with COVID-19 epidemic
South Korea's Finance Ministry has announced a second supplementary budget worth 7.6 trillion won ($6.3 billion) to help households weather the economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic. Together with local governments, the government will spend a total of 9.7 trillion won on one-time relief for 14.78 million households, or about half of the nation's households.
South Korea is holding elections at a sensitive time.
Accordingly, each household with four or more people in the 70% low-income group will receive a subsidy of 1 million won (equivalent to 817 USD). The subsidy levels for households with one person, two people and three people in this group are 400,000 won, 600,000 won and 800,000 won, respectively. The subsidy is in the form of shopping vouchers and gift certificates.
Japan declares nationwide state of emergency due to COVID-19 epidemic
Japanese Prime Minister Abe Shinzo has decided to declare a nationwide state of emergency in an effort to contain the COVID-19 outbreak. Prefectural and municipal governments will have the right to request schools and many businesses to close until the end of the Golden Week holiday, which is May 6. This is the first time a nationwide state of emergency has been declared in Japan.
Australia maintains social distancing measures for at least 4 more weeks
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the country will maintain restrictions for at least another four weeks to deal with the COVID-19 outbreak despite signs that the spread of the disease has slowed.
Mr. Morrison added that in May, Australia will expand testing, increase the capacity to track contacts of COVID-19 cases and plan to deal with new outbreaks.
COVID-19 infections in Middle Eastern and African countries increase sharply
The COVID-19 pandemic has now spread to 210 countries and territories, with hundreds of new cases reported each day in countries in the Middle East and North Africa.
The Turkish Ministry of Health said on April 16 that in the past 24 hours, the country recorded 4,801 more cases of SARS-CoV-2 virus infection, bringing the total number of infections in the country 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 epidemic situation in the Middle East continued to increase rapidly when new cases in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Qatar, Israel and Palestine were: 460 cases, 392 cases, 257 cases and 376 cases respectively.
Meanwhile in Africa, Algerian health officials said that in the past 24 hours, the country recorded 108 new cases and 12 deaths from COVID-19, bringing the total number of cases and deaths here to 2,268 and 336, respectively. In Egypt, the Ministry of Health also announced 155 new cases of COVID-19 and 5 more deaths, bringing the total number of cases in Egypt to 2,505 and the number of deaths to 183.
Europe remains the "eye of the storm"
With a total of 90,180 deaths from coronavirus infection out of a total of about 1,047,279 infected people, Europe has become the continent most severely affected by the Covid-19 epidemic worldwide to date.
Spain is the second largest outbreak in the world with the number of deaths recorded as of April 16 reaching 19,130. In the past 24 hours, Spain had 551 more deaths from COVID-19 and 5,183 new cases, bringing the total number of cases in the country to 182,816. However, Italy is still showing signs of cooling down with 165,155 COVID-19 cases, including 21,645 deaths, above France - the country with 147,863 cases and 17,187 deaths respectively; Germany with 135,549 and 3,850; UK with 103,093 and 13,729.
Russia also recorded 3,448 new cases of SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus infection, bringing the total number of COVID-19 cases in the country to 27,938. Russia's COVID-19 crisis response center said 34 patients died in the past 24 hours.
On the same day, British Health Secretary Matt Hancock announced: The COVID-19 epidemic in the UK has begun to peak and affirmed that it is still too early to lift the lockdown if the Government relaxes social distancing measures.
The World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Director for Europe, Hans Kluge, stressed 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 nearly doubled, approaching the 1 million mark.
UK opens second field hospital
The UK has opened a temporary hospital to treat COVID-19 patients at Birmingham's exhibition centre. The NHS Nightingale Hospital, 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 hospital models being set up across the UK to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic. Previously, the first field hospital with 4,000 beds was set up in 9 days at the ExCel Exhibition Centre in London and went into operation on April 5.
Italy cautiously eases lockdown
On April 14, Italy cautiously eased the lockdown on some economic sectors such as book and stationery stores, children's clothing stores and electrical repair shops.
The gradual reopening of the country's battered economy is being called "Phase Two" by the government, which involves gradually resuming economic activity while reorganizing public spaces to provide better protection, such as continuing to require social distancing and wearing masks and gloves in public. The government plans to lift the lockdown on May 3.
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 the COVID-19 pandemic. As of the morning of April 17, the United States recorded 29,053 new 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 cases.
In California, the government has allowed food industry workers, who play an essential 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 on April 16 decided to extend the lockdown order in New York state until May 15, although the number of deaths due to the COVID-19 epidemic in the past 24 hours was at its lowest level in 10 consecutive days. The number of deaths in New York state on April 16 was 606 cases, 146 cases less than the previous day.
Mr. Cuomo said that the number of cases must decrease much more before the blockade can be eased. Thus, 7 states in the northeastern region of the US have announced the extension of the blockade.
Mexico extends social distancing until the end of May
The Mexican government has decided to extend social distancing until May 30. Mexico's Deputy Health Minister Hugo Lopez-Gatell said the severity of the COVID-19 epidemic varies from place to place. Authorities continue to urge people to stay home, avoid going out when not necessary, and avoid traveling to areas with high infection rates such as the capital Mexico City, Estado de Mexico state and Puebla state.
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 from May 8-10 and the first cycle of the epidemic could end by the end of June 2020, when 95% of cases are identified.
Saudi Arabia allocates $500 million to international fight against Covid-19
Saudi Arabia has announced the allocation of $500 million to international organizations to respond to the Covid-19 pandemic. The budget will support efforts to combat Covid-19, including efforts to research a vaccine against the disease. This donation follows a commitment made during Saudi Arabia's presidency of the G20 this year.
Accordingly, Saudi Arabia will allocate 150 million USD to the "Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations", 150 million USD to the Global Alliance for Vaccine Research and Immunization, and 200 million USD to other international organizations and programs.
