Some European countries are reopening their borders, and the Middle East is beginning to open up again.

Vietnam records one more COVID-19 case, an individual who arrived from Russia.

On the afternoon of May 16th, the Ministry of Health announced the detection of one additional case of Covid-19, a passenger on a flight from Russia, who was immediately quarantined upon arrival. On May 13th, patient 327 arrived at Van Don International Airport from the Russian Federation on flight VN0062 and was immediately quarantined at the Military School in Thai Binh province. The patient is currently isolated and receiving treatment at Thai Binh Provincial General Hospital. Thus, the total number of cases among passengers on flight VN0062 on May 13th is now 33. All were quarantined immediately upon arrival and pose no risk of community transmission.

Thailand extends state of emergency until the end of June.

On May 26, the Thai Cabinet decided to extend the state of 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) had also agreed with the NSC's proposal, citing the need to respond to the evolving global COVID-19 pandemic and to allow for preparations for the next phase of easing lockdown restrictions starting next month.

The Thai government has planned four phases of easing lockdown restrictions, expected to last two months, to fully reopen activities provided that the number of new Covid-19 cases is controlled.

The pandemic situation in the Middle East region.

On May 26, Jordanian officials announced that civil servants had begun returning to work after two months of lockdown to control the spread of COVID-19. The majority of Jordan's 250,000 civil servants had not been working 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 lingering concerns about the pandemic, churches are only allowing 50 visitors at a time. All are required to wear masks and have their temperature checked.

On May 26, the Saudi Arabian Ministry of Interior announced that restrictions would begin to be eased in stages this week. The curfew will be lifted between 6 am and 3 pm this weekend. From May 31 to June 20, the curfew will be further relaxed until 8 pm. Saudi Arabia will completely lift the 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 on May 26th. Iran's Deputy Health Minister, Mohsen Farhadi, stated that all restaurants in the country would reopen while still adhering to health regulations. Cafes also began reopening, but without serving Hukka tobacco, which is very popular in Iranian cafes and tea houses.

Australia detects COVID-19 outbreak on cargo ship.

A new outbreak of acute respiratory illness Covid-19 was discovered on May 26 on a cargo ship anchored in Fremantle port off the western coast of Australia. Western Australian Premier Mark McGowan said that six of the 48 crew members on the Al Kuwait tested positive for the SARS-CoV-2 virus, four days after the ship arrived from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to transport Australian sheep for export.

The infected sailors have been moved to isolation at a hotel in nearby Perth while health officials consider options. The ship's cargo, consisting of 56,000 sheep, is being held at a cattle ranch near the port and cannot be returned to farms due to quarantine regulations.

Montenegro - The first European country to declare the pandemic over.

On May 25th, Montenegro's Prime Minister, Dusko Markovic, declared that the country had successfully contained the COVID-19 pandemic, with no new cases reported for the past 20 days and 69 days since the first case was recorded. As of May 25th, Montenegro had only recorded 324 cases and 9 deaths.

Prime Minister Markovic declared that the country had defeated the pandemic and become the first in Europe to be free of the disease. This is considered a significant announcement for the economy of this small Balkan nation with a population of 620,000, which relies heavily on tourism.

Hungary, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic allow cross-border travel.

Hungary, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic have reopened their borders to each other as of today (May 27). Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said that his country had agreed with its Czech and Slovak counterparts to allow Hungarian, Slovak, and Czech citizens to stay in each other's territories for no more than 48 hours without quarantine.

However, according to Mr. Szijjarto, Hungarian citizens can enter the Czech Republic via Slovakia but cannot return to Hungary via Slovakia. They would have to go around Austria, and the same applies to Czech citizens returning from Hungary.

France allows the use of contact tracing apps.

On May 26, France's National Commission for Information and Freedom (CNIL) authorized the use of a mobile application that alerts users if they have been in contact with someone infected with the SARS-CoV-2 virus. The "StopCovid" app tracks close contact with others for two weeks and will alert users if it detects anyone with Covid-19.

Although the choice to use the app is entirely voluntary, it has raised concerns about the risk of data misuse and privacy violations. However, the CNIL maintains that the app meets legal requirements for privacy protection, with features designed to prevent misuse.

He provided the antiviral drug Remdesivir to COVID-19 patients.

The UK Department of Health announced on May 26th that it will provide the antiviral drug Remdesivir to some COVID-19 patients. The Department stated that previous data from clinical trials around the world, including in the UK, showed that the drug could shorten patients' recovery time by up to four days. However, the UK did not provide details on the number of patients to be treated with Remdesivir.

Spain calls for the establishment of common rules to open EU borders.

On May 26, Spain urged its European Union (EU) partners to establish common rules on opening borders and restoring the Schengen free movement area, as many countries are gradually lifting nationwide lockdowns to combat the Covid-19 pandemic.

Spanish Foreign Minister Arancha Gonzalez argued that even if EU countries have set different timelines for reopening borders, there is still a need for common rules and regulations for the Schengen area to open internal borders and establish regulations for external borders.

The US is developing a body temperature measuring patch.

A group of American technology companies is researching and developing a skin patch that can monitor increases in body temperature – one of the signs that could be a symptom of the acute respiratory illness Covid-19.

The patch works with specially designed microchips and connects wirelessly to a smartphone to monitor the user's body temperature. Companies plan to apply artificial intelligence to analyze signals such as coughs to identify symptoms of Covid-19. These results could 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 this product can be mass-produced.

California eases restrictions, retail stores allowed to reopen.

Authorities in California have announced that retail operations, including traditional stores and religious sites that were forced to close due to lockdown measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19, may reopen.

The California Department of Public Health said businesses and churches, synagogues, and mosques can reopen at only 25% capacity and with other restrictions.

The death toll in Brazil could exceed 125,000.

A study by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) at the University of Washington in the United States predicts that the number of deaths from COVID-19 in Brazil could reach over 125,000 by early August. This predictive model was developed by IHME after collecting data on hospitalizations, the number of tests conducted, deaths, and social distancing measures implemented.

In mid-May, a forecast for the number of deaths in this South American country was only 88,305. According to the same study, the highest number of deaths in a 24-hour period would occur on July 13th with 1,526 cases.

My Tong