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Vietnam continues to report no new COVID-19 cases.
As of 6:00 AM on April 24th, Vietnam continued to record no new cases of acute respiratory disease COVID-19. This marks the eighth consecutive day without any new COVID-19 cases, while major cities are beginning to gradually ease previously implemented social distancing regulations.
With patient number 206 at the Cu Chi Field Hospital (Ho Chi Minh City) being declared recovered on April 23, Vietnam has cured 224 out of 268 cases, accounting for nearly 84% of those infected with COVID-19. Among the 44 cases currently under treatment, 15 have tested negative for SARS-CoV-2 once, and 2 have tested negative twice.
Ho Chi Minh City allows Buddha Bar to lift quarantine, but must remove its sign.
On the afternoon of April 23rd, regarding the handling of the COVID-19 outbreak at Buddha Bar (7 Thao Dien Street, District 2), the Chairman of the District 2 People's Committee, Nguyen Phuoc Hung, stated that the district had decided to lift the quarantine measures at this location from April 23rd. Specifically, after the quarantine is lifted, the owner will only be allowed to resume business when there is a general announcement from the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee regarding the business of restaurants and eateries.
However, District 2 requires the aforementioned business establishment to supervise hygiene and disinfection, and also demands that the owner remove paintings, Buddha statues, and other religious elements that are contrary to Vietnamese customs and traditions.
Ba Ria-Vung Tau province has allowed the reopening of flights to Con Dao Island from April 24th.
On the afternoon of April 23, the People's Committee of Ba Ria-Vung Tau province issued a decision to resume transportation services in Ba Ria-Vung Tau province and Con Dao from 0:00 on April 24, with the principle that vehicles will only operate at a maximum of 50% of their seating capacity per trip; passengers will be seated with adequate spacing (one seat apart) or ensuring a distance of 1 meter between passengers. Drivers and vehicles transporting passengers must comply with the disease prevention and control requirements of the Ministry of Transport and the Ministry of Health.
Tien Giang allows operation of some passenger transport routes.
According to Phan Vinh Thanh, Deputy Director of the Tien Giang Department of Transport, starting from April 23rd, the province has allowed some passenger transport routes to resume operation. Specifically, inter-provincial bus passenger transport routes from Tien Giang to Ben Tre, Long An, and Dong Thap provinces are permitted to resume. However, the route from Tien Giang to Ho Chi Minh City (code 62-9) will only resume operation with the approval of Ho Chi Minh City.
When services resume, buses and fixed-route vehicles will operate at a maximum of 30% of their scheduled capacity for provinces and cities in the high-risk group, and a maximum of 50% for provinces and cities in the low-risk group.
Southeast Asia is experiencing tensions due to Covid-19.
As of the morning of April 22, Southeast Asia had recorded over 30,000 cases of SARS-CoV-2 virus infection causing COVID-19, with 88.8% of them in Singapore, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Malaysia.
Singapore currently has the highest number of COVID-19 cases in Southeast Asia, with the majority being legal foreign workers living in crowded dormitories. After several consecutive days of daily new infections exceeding 1,000, Singapore has now recorded a total of 9,125 cases, with 11 deaths. Notably, the number of cases in the island nation has increased sixfold since the beginning of the month.
The second-largest outbreak area is Indonesia, with 7,135 infected people but the highest number of deaths in the region (616 cases), placing it among the top 5 Asian countries with the highest death rates. This is followed by the Philippines with 6,599 cases and Malaysia with 5,482 cases.
Indonesia has temporarily banned passenger transport by air and sea.
On April 23, Indonesian Ministry of Transportation officials announced a temporary ban on domestic flights and sea passenger transport. To prevent the further spread of COVID-19 in Indonesia, the ban on domestic flights will be in effect until June 1, and the ban on sea transport will last until June 8. However, this ban does not apply to cargo transport.
China donates an additional $30 million to the World Health Organization.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying announced on April 23 that China will provide an additional $30 million to the World Health Organization (WHO) to assist in the global fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. Hua Chunying stated that the funding is specifically aimed at strengthening the healthcare systems of developing countries.
The COVID-19 pandemic situation in Europe
As of April 23rd, Europe had 1,188,940 confirmed cases of SARS-CoV-2, including 112,953 deaths, indicating a continued increase in cases and deaths in several other European countries. The Netherlands reported a rise in SARS-CoV-2 cases to 35,729, with 887 new infections and 123 additional deaths, suggesting the actual number of cases may be higher than reported. The Belgian National Security Council announced 230 new deaths and 908 new cases in the past 24 hours, bringing the total number of cases to 42,797.
The World Health Organization (WHO) regional director for Europe, Hans Kluge, said that up to 50% of COVID-19 deaths in the continent are in nursing homes. According to Kluge, "this is an unimaginable tragedy."
On April 23, Spanish Deputy Prime Minister Pablo Iglesias announced that children under 14 will be allowed to leave their homes for one hour under adult supervision and not be permitted to travel more than one kilometer from their homes, as the spread of COVID-19 slows. Spanish authorities are currently easing restrictions imposed to combat COVID-19 after the number of new daily cases decreased from 20% to 2%. Spain remains a hotspot, with 4,635 new infections and 440 deaths recorded in the past 24 hours.
The Romanian government announced on April 23 that the total number of SARS-CoV-2 virus infections causing COVID-19 in the country had reached 10,096, after confirming 386 new cases. The announcement added that Romania has also recorded a total of 527 deaths and that the country declared a state of emergency on March 16, extending its validity until May 15.
The Russian Federation reported that as of the afternoon of April 23, it had recorded an additional 4,774 cases of SARS-CoV-2 infection, bringing the total number of cases to 62,773. Russia also confirmed 42 deaths in the past 24 hours, raising the total death toll to 555. The region with the highest daily number of infections remains Moscow with 1,959 cases.
The Ukrainian Ministry of Health reported 578 new cases, the highest single-day total, bringing the total number of infections to 7,170. In response, the Ukrainian Cabinet extended lockdown measures until May 11th. All existing restrictions remain in effect and will remain in force for at least the next two weeks.
Germany tracks COVID-19 infections via smartphones.
According to an announcement by the German government, in an effort to reduce the spread of the pandemic, Germany has chosen a domestically developed technology to monitor COVID-19 cases in the country via smartphones. This technology will serve the Robert Koch Institute, the agency directing Germany's health response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The app will use the phone's Bluetooth wireless signal to determine if a person has been in close contact with an infected individual. From there, the app will send "alerts" to those who have had close contact with the confirmed infected person, so that they can self-isolate.
He conducted large-scale research on herd immunity.
The UK government has announced plans for a large-scale study to trace the SARS-CoV-2 virus across the population. The study is expected to last a year and involve approximately 300,000 participants. In the initial phase, a group of around 25,000 people will undergo regular nasal and throat swab tests to determine if they have COVID-19. Blood samples from adults in approximately 1,000 households will also be tested periodically to assess how many individuals have naturally developed antibodies.
Switzerland develops biosensor to detect SARS-CoV-2 virus.
A team of scientists in Switzerland has successfully developed a biosensor that can not only detect the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes COVID-19 but also track this dangerous virus in the air. Scientists at the Swiss Federal Laboratory for Materials Science and Technology (Empa) say the biosensor can be used to measure SARS-CoV-2 concentrations in crowded places in real time. The device could also be used to detect other viruses, thereby helping to detect and prevent outbreaks in their early stages. Currently, the sensor is still being refined and is not yet in widespread use.
Hundreds of Italians have created their own antibodies against the SARS-CoV-2 virus.
The health authorities in the town of Ortisei in northern Italy (near the border with Austria) recently conducted antibody tests for the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes COVID-19. According to Dr. Simon Kostner, 49% of the 456 people tested had antibodies against the SARS-CoV-2 virus.
This could be a result of herd immunity in this town of nearly 5,000 people. Previously, the World Health Organization (WHO) estimated that only about 2-3% of the world's population appeared to have antibodies against the SARS-CoV-2 virus.
France is encouraging all retail stores to reopen from May 11th.
The French government expressed its desire on April 23 to allow all retail stores to reopen once the nationwide lockdown aimed at preventing the spread of COVID-19 is lifted on May 11. With less than 10% of France's 67 million population projected to have contracted COVID-19 by the time the lockdown ends, Paris affirmed that travel restrictions between regions of France will remain in place.
The US House of Representatives approves a $484 billion aid package to combat COVID-19.
On April 23, the US House of Representatives passed a $484 billion relief package for small businesses and hospitals, aimed at mitigating the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and increasing testing. This relief package brings the total US spending on COVID-19 crisis relief to nearly $3 trillion.
The bill includes an additional $310 billion for the Paycheck Protection Program, of which $60 billion is specifically for community banks and small lenders whose economic damage from the pandemic has resulted in 26 million job losses in the past five weeks. It also includes an additional $75 billion for hospitals, $25 billion for testing, and $60 billion for emergency disaster loans and grants.
Currently, the US remains the epicenter of the global pandemic with 879,430 infections and 49,769 deaths. New York State authorities report that over 20% of the 3,000 people randomly selected for antibody testing this week have tested positive for the SARS-CoV-2 virus. If this figure accurately reflects the situation there, it means that more than 1.7 million people in New York City and 2.6 million people across the state have been infected.
Aggregate data as of the morning of April 24th
