11 MORE COVID-19 PATIENTS CURED
On the afternoon of April 2, the Central Hospital for Tropical Diseases announced that it had cured 11 more Covid-19 patients, including an employee of Truong Sinh Company Limited and a 25-week pregnant woman.
To date, Vietnam has cured 75 cases of Covid-19. In addition, 3 out of 4 severe patients, who had to use ventilators, have so far tested negative for the virus that causes Covid-19 three times.
Remove isolation of 2 routes in Binh Thuan
At 00:00 on April 3, the Binh Thuan Provincial Police removed the quarantine checkpoints on two streets in Duc Thang Ward, Phan Thiet City (Binh Thuan) under the direction of the Binh Thuan Provincial People's Committee. After 21 days of implementation, no new Covid-19 cases have been reported in the quarantine area.
Previously, on the evening of March 12, the People's Committee of Binh Thuan province issued Decision 557/QD-UBND on isolating the route to prevent the Covid-19 epidemic.
The total number of Covid-19 infections in the world has surpassed 1 million
As of the morning of April 3, according to statistics from Johns Hopkins University (USA), among more than one million cases worldwide, the US is currently the country with the most cases with more than 240,000 cases. Italy is currently the country with the highest number of deaths, followed by Spain.
About 700,000 cases worldwide have mild symptoms and nearly 38,000 are in critical condition. In addition, more than 200,000 people have recovered so far.
Source: Government Information
Western countries call for wearing masks
Germany's Robert Koch Institute (RKI) has switched to supporting the wearing of masks even in the absence of symptoms to limit the risk of infection with the new coronavirus. Previously, the RKI only recommended the use of masks for people who were sick.
Germany has recorded 962 deaths out of more than 80,000 cases and more than 22,000 people have recovered.
The US President also advised people to wear masks or use scarves to cover their faces on the evening of April 2 (local time). Some US officials said they would call on people to wear masks in areas with Covid-19 epidemic hotspots. In New York, Mayor Bill de Blasio said people do not necessarily have to wear medical masks but can wear scarves or anything they create themselves, when going out or being near other people.
The Czech Republic, Slovakia and Bosnia have also issued recommendations to wear masks.
Czech Republic extends state of emergency
The Czech government has decided to extend the state of emergency until May 11, following a proposal by the Central Crisis Committee. However, this decision needs to be approved by the House of Representatives at its session scheduled for April 7.
According to Czech Health Minister Adam Vojtěch, although the epidemic situation is under control and there are some positive signs, the peak of the epidemic is forecast to occur in the next two weeks, so the government cannot relax the measures. Based on the epidemic development chart, it is necessary to extend the state of emergency for another 30 days.
The Czech Republic has now recorded 3,604 infections and 39 deaths.
Russia extends non-work period until end of April
President Vladimir Putin on April 2 decided to extend the "non-working day" period until April 30 to prevent the spread of Covid-19, stating that the epidemic situation in the world as well as in Russia has not yet passed its peak.
He will give more power to local leaders in Russia so that by the end of this week they can decide for themselves what level of social distancing measures to apply in their localities.
The Russian leader on March 25 announced that citizens would observe a non-working week from March 30 to April 3 and would still receive their salaries.
UK finds ordered test kits contaminated with coronavirus
The incident comes as the UK is accelerating its Covid-19 response with the aim of conducting 25,000 tests a day by mid-April. Last week, the country's Department of Health announced it had ordered more than 3.5 million test kits.
However, the British Telegraph recently revealed that the test kits ordered by the country from the Luxembourg-based company Eurofins were also contaminated with the new coronavirus.
A Eurofins spokesman acknowledged that the virus had been detected in key parts of the test kits, but said the problem could be solved by cleaning them. The incident will affect deliveries to UK labs.
The incident comes as the UK health sector faces criticism for its slower Covid-19 testing rate than other countries.
Iranian Parliament Speaker contracts COVID-19
Mr. Ali Larijani, Speaker of the Iranian Parliament, has tested positive for SARS-CoV-2. The leader is currently being quarantined and treated.
So far, Mr. Larijani is the highest-ranking official in Iran's leadership to contract Covid-19.
Saudi Arabia imposes 24-hour curfew on Mecca and Medina
Saudi Arabia's Interior Ministry imposed a 24-hour curfew on the two holy cities of Mecca and Medina on April 2. Previously, the curfew was only effective from 3 p.m. the previous day to 6 a.m. the following morning.
The agency also said there would be exceptions for essential workers, as well as people going out to buy food or seek medical help.
Saudi Arabia currently has 1,720 cases and 16 deaths.
Thailand announces curfew
According to Reuters, the Thai government announced that the country will apply a curfew from 10 p.m. the previous day to 4 a.m. the following day, starting April 3. The curfew will have some exceptions for vehicles carrying medical equipment, vehicles taking people to quarantine areas, vehicles carrying patients and doctors.
On April 2, Thailand recorded 104 new cases of coronavirus and 3 deaths. Thailand's total number of infections and deaths is 1,875 and 15 deaths.
According to the Bangkok Post, about 70% of Thais strictly follow social distancing.
Japan adds entry ban to foreigners
On April 3, the Japanese government added 48 more countries - including the US, China, South Korea, the UK, Canada, Australia, Turkey, Thailand and one territory - to the list of countries whose citizens are banned from entering Japan. Thus, so far, the country has banned entry for 72 countries and one territory.
Meanwhile, those arriving from other parts of the world, including Japanese nationals, will have to self-isolate at designated locations such as homes or hotels for 14 days and refrain from using public transport such as subways and buses. This measure is expected to be in effect until the end of April 2020.
In addition, visa exemption programs applicable to countries and territories on the list will be suspended.
Hong Kong orders bars and pubs to close
According to Reuters, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region has ordered bars and pubs to close for two weeks from 6 p.m. on April 3. Anyone who violates this regulation will face six months in prison and a fine of 50,000 HKD (equivalent to 6,450 USD).
The decision comes as the financial hub steps up social distancing restrictions and joins other cities around the world in a fight to contain the spread of the new coronavirus.
New York is running out of ventilators
Governor Andrew Cuomo said on April 2 that with the current rate of ventilator use for SARS-CoV2 patients, the state only has enough ventilators to last for another 6 days. Mr. Cuomo said the state currently has only 2,200 ventilators in reserve and every day New York has to use ventilators for about 350 new patients.
Although the federal government is doing its best to support New York, currently the largest epidemic center in the US, it is likely that the White House cannot handle such an urgent situation.
New York state is trying to address the situation by purchasing additional ventilators from various sources and converting some continuous positive airway pressure (BPAP) machines into ventilators for patients.
New York State currently has a total of 92,381 positive cases of SARS-CoV2, of which 52,000 are in New York City.
Also on April 2, Nassau County in Long Island discovered more than 1,000 new cases overnight, while the county was already an outbreak center with more than 10,000 confirmed cases.
The death toll in New York state also reached 2,373 people, equivalent to 49% of the total number of deaths in the United States, forcing the local government to set up 45 mobile morgues and allow the universal crematoriums to operate 24/7.
Currently, about 21,000 doctors and nurses from other states have volunteered to support hospitals in New York, and three major public hospitals in New York City have been converted and utilized to exclusively treat SARS-CoV2 patients.
Donald Trump invokes wartime law
US President Donald Trump on April 2 announced the activation of the Defense Production Act to help companies manufacturing ventilators for Covid-19 patients receive the supplies of materials they need.
In a letter released by the White House, President Trump directed US Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Alex Azar to use his authority to facilitate the supply of ventilator materials to six companies.
The US Defense Production Act, which dates back to the Korean War in the 1950s, gives the president the authority to require businesses, including the private sector, to accelerate and expand the supply of resources from US industry to support military, energy, space, and homeland security programs.
Last week, Mr. Trump first invoked emergency powers to force automaker General Motors (GM.N) to produce ventilators.
On the one hand, the New York Times revealed that, although President Donald Trump claimed the federal government had 10,000 ventilators in stockpiles, in reality more than 2,100 were broken.
Peru imposes gender-based travel restrictions
Peruvian President Martin Vizcarra announced on April 2 a new measure to limit public movement by gender. Accordingly, men are only allowed to go out on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays while women are allowed to go out on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. No one is allowed to go out on Sundays.
These restrictions will apply until April 12, the end of the lockdown that the Peruvian government imposed on March 16.
The new measure aims to halve the number of people active in the community at any given time and "the existing control measures have given good results but are not enough," Mr. Vizcarra said.
