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Vietnam: 27 days without community transmission, 87% of patients have recovered.
According to information from the National Steering Committee for Covid-19 Prevention and Control, as of this morning (May 13), Vietnam has not recorded any new cases, and it has been 27 days since Vietnam last detected any new community transmission cases.
On May 12th, three more patients who had tested positive again were declared recovered, bringing the total number of recovered cases to 252 (accounting for 87% of the total cases). Currently, only 36 cases remain under treatment, of which 9 have tested negative for SARS-CoV-2 two or more times.
Bringing over 300 Vietnamese citizens from the Russian Federation back to Vietnam.
On May 12th and 13th, 2020, Vietnamese authorities, the Vietnamese Embassy in the Russian Federation, and Vietnam National Airlines coordinated with Russian authorities to bring more than 340 Vietnamese citizens from Moscow back to Vietnam. These included children under 18, students without accommodation due to school and dormitory closures, pregnant women, the elderly, the sick, tourists and transit passengers from other countries who were stranded, and workers whose visas and labor contracts had expired.
Immediately after safely landing at Van Don International Airport, all passengers on the flight underwent medical checks and were taken to a centralized quarantine facility in accordance with regulations.
Previously, on a flight to Russia on May 12th, Vietnam National Airlines also transported a number of Russian passengers back home.
Nearly 300,000 deaths have been attributed to COVID-19 worldwide.
As of 8:00 AM on May 13th, according to statistics on worldometers.info, the world has recorded a total of 4,337,625 cases of acute respiratory disease Covid-19; including 292,451 deaths and more than 1.59 million recoveries.
The United States was the hardest-hit country, with 1,408,636 cases and 83,425 deaths.
The Indonesian capital will fine those who do not wear face masks.
On May 12, Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan announced that the city would begin implementing disciplinary measures during large-scale social distancing, after authorities completed the distribution of free face masks to all Jakarta citizens.
Previously, the Jakarta government issued regulations on penalties for violations of COVID-19 prevention measures in the capital. Those who do not wear masks when leaving their homes, in public places, or in public facilities during social distancing will be subject to penalties ranging from written warnings to fines of up to 250,000 Rupiah (approximately 380,000 VND).
Israel successfully tests COVID-19 treatment drug.
Israeli media reported on May 12th that an Israeli biotechnology company had announced successful trials of a drug to treat patients with Covid-19.
According to reports, the drug, called MesenCure and manufactured by Bonus Biogroup, can treat respiratory failure and pneumonia caused by the novel coronavirus (SARV-CoV-2). The reports state that the company recently conducted preclinical trials on animals, which showed that their lungs were completely healthy after treatment with the drug.
The company is currently awaiting approval from the Israeli government to conduct trials on patients with Covid-19.
Brazil has become the country with the 7th highest number of infections in the world.
Brazil's Ministry of Health confirmed on May 12 that the number of new coronavirus infections causing COVID-19 in the country had increased by 9,258 in the past 24 hours, bringing the total number of cases to 177,589.
Brazil also recorded 881 additional deaths in the past 24 hours – a record single-day increase in the country – bringing the total number of deaths from the disease to 12,400. This makes Brazil the country with the seventh highest number of infections in the world.
Children in New York are developing a mysterious inflammatory syndrome linked to SARS-CoV-2.
The New York State Department of Health is currently treating and investigating a rare but potentially dangerous inflammatory syndrome affecting approximately 100 children in the eastern U.S. state, believed to be linked to the SARS-CoV-2 virus.
During a press briefing on the pandemic situation on May 12, Governor Andrew Cuomo expressed concern about a disease called pediatric multisystem inflammatory syndrome (MIS), which has been found to affect children aged 5-14, with three deaths reported so far. Of those infected, 52 live in New York City, not including 10 others currently under diagnosis.
On the same day, New York State recorded 195 deaths from Covid-19, marking the second consecutive day with fewer than 200 deaths in the state.
US airlines do not require passengers to wear masks on airplanes.
According to Reuters, the three leading US airlines—American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, and United Airlines—have instructed their staff that they may refuse boarding to passengers without masks at the gate and will provide masks to those without. However, once on board, the mask policy will be relaxed, and the role of flight attendants will be to inform passengers but not to require them to wear masks.
Children, people with disabilities, or those with health problems are not required to wear masks.
Italy has recorded over 109,000 recoveries.
On May 12, the Italian Civil Protection Agency announced that the country had recorded an additional 1,402 cases of SARS-CoV-2 infection, bringing the total number of cases in the country to 221,216.
Meanwhile, the number of deaths from Covid-19 in Italy rose to 30,911 (an increase of 172) and the number of recoveries was 109,039 (an increase of 2,452).
The agency also stated that Italy currently has 12,865 hospitalized cases with symptoms, of which 952 require intensive care, a decrease of 47 cases.
Russia ranks second in Europe in the number of infected people.
Russia has become the second-highest-case-number-in-European country, after Spain, with 232,243 cases, an increase of 10,899 in the past 24 hours.
Authorities say the high number of new infections – averaging over 10,000 cases per day – reflects the large-scale testing campaign, with approximately 5.8 million people tested to date. Moscow and the surrounding region remain hotspots, accounting for more than half of the country's infections.
The Canadian Prime Minister wants to reform the nursing home system.
The number of deaths from the novel coronavirus in Canada surpassed 5,000 on May 12th. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Canada needs to reform its nursing home system, where more than 80% of Covid-19 victims live.
Public Health Canada reported that the country's death toll stands at 5,049, making it the 11th country in the world to record more than 5,000 deaths.
EU pushes for reopening borders for tourism.
On May 13, the European Commission will issue a series of non-binding recommendations, including targeted restrictions instead of a general travel ban, and a gradual easing of border checks as the Covid-19 situation improves.
The three Baltic states have also decided to reopen their borders to citizens from the region starting May 15, creating a "travel bubble" within the EU as anti-epidemic measures are eased.
Reuters reported that the EU's tourism industry alone lost 80-90% of its revenue in the first quarter of 2020 and is bracing for a disastrous summer as the EU faces its worst economic recession.
The number of daily COVID-19 cases in South Africa has increased to a record high.
On May 12, South Africa's Ministry of Health announced that the country had recorded a total of 11,350 cases of SARS-CoV-2 infection after detecting 698 new cases in the past 24 hours. This was also the highest daily number of infections since the country reported its first case on March 5.
According to Health Minister Zweli Mkhize, the Western Cape province, home to the iconic global tourist city of Cape Town, is currently the largest outbreak center in South Africa with 6,105 Covid-19 cases, accounting for 53.8% of the total cases nationwide.
Twitter allows some employees to work remotely permanently.
Twitter was the first major tech company to allow employees who could work remotely to continue working remotely permanently, as the Covid-19 pandemic has changed work culture worldwide.
Twitter said it would not reopen most offices until September 2020, and employees were free to choose whether and when to come to work. Meanwhile, tech giants like Facebook and Alphabet – Google's parent company – have allowed most employees to work remotely through the end of 2020.
