VI
EN
Vietnam records one more case of COVID-19 entering from Russia
On the afternoon of May 16, the Ministry of Health announced the discovery of one more case of Covid-19, a passenger on a flight from Russia to Vietnam, who was quarantined immediately upon entry. On May 13, patient 327 from the Russian Federation arrived at Van Don International Airport on flight VN0062, and after entering the country was quarantined at the Military School of Thai Binh province. The patient is currently quarantined and treated at Thai Binh General Hospital. Thus, the total number of cases among passengers on flight VN0062 on May 13 is 33. All were quarantined immediately upon entry, with no risk of spreading the disease to the community.
Thailand extends state of emergency until end of June
On May 26, the Thai Cabinet decided to extend the emergency decree until the end of June as proposed by the National Security Council (NSC). Previously, the Thai Government's Center for Covid-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) also agreed with the NSC's proposal, citing the development of the global Covid-19 pandemic and preparation for the next phase of lockdown easing from early next month.
The Thai government has planned four stages of lockdown easing, expected to last for two months, to fully reopen activities provided the number of new Covid-19 cases is controlled.
Epidemic situation in the Middle East region
Jordanian civil servants have returned to work after two months of being forced to stay home due to a lockdown to control the spread of the coronavirus, officials said on May 26. Most of Jordan's 250,000 civil servants have not returned to work since the government declared a state of emergency in mid-March.
On the same day, churches in the Holy Land reopened to worshippers and visitors, as Palestinian authorities and churches eased restrictions imposed to control the spread of Covid-19. Due to concerns about the disease, churches are only allowing 50 people to visit at a time. All must wear masks and have their temperatures checked.
On May 26, the Saudi Interior Ministry announced that it would begin easing restrictions in phases this week, with the curfew being lifted from 6am to 3pm for the three weekends. From May 31 to June 20, the curfew will continue to be relaxed until 8pm. Saudi Arabia will completely lift the country's lockdown on June 21.
Meanwhile, after more than two months of closure due to the Covid-19 outbreak, restaurants and cafes in Iran were allowed to reopen from May 26. Iranian Deputy Health Minister Mohsen Farhadi said that all restaurants in the country will reopen while still implementing health regulations. Cafes also began to open to customers but did not serve Hukka cigarettes, which are very popular in cafes and tea shops in Iran.
Australia detects Covid-19 outbreak on cargo ship
A new outbreak of acute respiratory infection Covid-19 was detected on May 26 on a cargo ship anchored at the port of Fremantle on the west coast of Australia. Western Australia Premier Mark McGowan said six of the 48 crew members on the Al Kuwait tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 virus, four days after the ship from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) docked to carry Australian sheep for export.
The infected crew have been moved to a hotel in nearby Perth while health officials consider options. The ship’s cargo of 56,000 sheep is being held at a cattle station near the port and cannot be returned to farms due to quarantine regulations.
Montenegro - The first European country to declare the end of the epidemic
On May 25, Montenegro Prime Minister Dusko Markovic announced that the country had successfully controlled the Covid-19 acute respiratory infection epidemic when no new cases were recorded in the past 20 days and 69 days after the first case was recorded. As of May 25, Montenegro had recorded only 324 cases and 9 deaths.
Prime Minister Markovic affirmed that the country had won the battle against the virus and became the first country in Europe to be free of the virus, an important announcement for the small Balkan country with a population of 620,000 people, which depends on tourism.
Hungary, Slovakia, Czech Republic allow cross-border travel
Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic have reopened their borders to each other since today (May 27). Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said that his country has agreed with its Czech and Slovak counterparts to allow Hungarian, Slovak and Czech citizens to stay in each other's territory for no more than 48 hours without quarantine.
However, according to Mr. Szijjarto, Hungarian citizens can go to the Czech Republic if they go through Slovakia but cannot return to Hungary if they go through Slovakia. They will have to go around Austria and the same applies to Czech citizens returning from Hungary.
France allows use of contact tracing app
On May 26, the French National Commission for Information and Freedoms (CNIL) authorized the use of a phone application with a feature that alerts users if they come into contact with a person infected with the SARS-CoV-2 virus. The "StopCovid" application was built with a feature that tracks users' close contact with others within 2 weeks and will warn when detecting any person infected with Covid-19.
Although opting in is entirely voluntary, the app has raised concerns about potential data misuse and privacy violations. However, CNIL said the app meets legal requirements for privacy protection, with features to prevent misuse.
UK provides antiviral drug Remdesivir to COVID-19 patients
The UK Department of Health said on May 26 that the country will provide the anti-SARS-CoV-2 drug Remdesivir to some Covid-19 patients. The UK Department of Health said that previous data from clinical trials around the world, including in the UK, showed that the drug can shorten patients' recovery time by 4 days. However, the UK did not provide details on the number of patients treated with Remdesivir.
Spain calls for common rules to open EU borders
Spain on May 26 urged its partners in the European Union (EU) to establish common rules on opening borders and restoring the Schengen travel-free zone as many countries are gradually lifting nationwide lockdowns to fight the Covid-19 pandemic.
Spanish Foreign Minister Arancha Gonzalez said that even if EU countries have set different dates for reopening borders, there should still be common rules and regulations for the Schengen area to open internal borders and set regulations for external borders.
US develops body temperature measuring patch
A group of US technology companies are researching and developing a skin patch that can monitor increased body temperature - one of the signs that could be a symptom of Covid-19 acute respiratory infection.
The patch works with a specially designed microchip and connects wirelessly to a smartphone to monitor the user's body temperature. The companies plan to use artificial intelligence to analyze signals such as coughs to identify symptoms of Covid-19. These results can then be used to create sensor-based systems to detect the SARS-CoV-2 virus and help slow the spread of the disease. Experts hope the product can be mass produced.
California loosens restrictions, retail stores allowed to operate
California (USA) state authorities have just announced that retail activities with traditional shopping stores and religious ceremony areas in this state, which were forced to close due to the implementation of lockdown regulations to prevent the spread of COVID-19, may resume operations.
The California Department of Public Health says businesses and churches, synagogues and mosques can reopen at just 25% capacity, with other restrictions.
Brazil's death toll could exceed 125,000
A study by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) at the University of Washington in the US predicts that the number of deaths from Covid-19 in Brazil could reach over 125,000 by early August. This forecast model was conducted by IHME after collecting data on hospitalizations, the number of test samples, deaths and applied social distancing measures.
In mid-May, a forecast for the number of deaths in this South American country was only 88,305 cases. According to the same study, the highest number of deaths in 24 hours will fall on July 13 with 1,526 cases.
