Hanoi fines people who go out unnecessarily
Chairman of the Hanoi People's Committee Nguyen Duc Chung requested that from April 4, districts and towns check people on the streets and punish all those who go out without necessary reasons. Mr. Chung emphasized that this is a very important period for the city. If the next 15 days can pass, the risk of infection will be greatly reduced.
The cases allowed to go out according to the Prime Minister's directive are necessary cases such as buying food, groceries, medicine, etc.
The Chairman of the Hanoi People's Committee also directed the closure of all parks in the city, asking people not to go to parks to exercise, but to only exercise at home.
Vietnam donates medical equipment to help Laos and Cambodia fight COVID-19
According to the announcement of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on April 3, Vietnam has donated medical supplies worth over 7 billion VND to Laos and Cambodia. The medical equipment includes protective clothing, medical masks, antibacterial masks, testing systems and Covid-19 testing kits.
Deputy Minister Nguyen Quoc Dung affirmed that Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia are neighboring countries with special friendship relations, always standing side by side in all circumstances. The Deputy Minister also asked the Lao and Cambodian governments to continue creating favorable conditions for the Vietnamese community in the country to stabilize their lives and access necessary medical conditions to prevent and fight Covid-19.
Singapore launches new measures to prevent COVID-19 spread
On April 3, Singapore announced new measures to fight the epidemic, including closing schools from April 8 and most workplaces from April 7.
According to the South China Morning Post, these are unprecedented strict measures by the lion island to prevent the spread of Covid-19. Food selling places such as markets, supermarkets, hospitals, banking services... remain open.
Philippines records highest number of deaths in one day
The Philippines' Ministry of Health said on April 3 that the country had just recorded 29 more deaths due to Covid-19. This is the highest number of deaths in a single day in the Philippines.
The Philippines currently has a total of 136 deaths and 3,018 infections.
Starting April 3, Filipinos will be required to wear face masks in public or face fines. A Philippine health ministry official stressed that surgical masks, cloth masks, homemade masks, or even bandanas are acceptable, as long as they cover the wearer’s nose and mouth.
China holds national mourning for COVID-19 victims
Today, China holds a national mourning to commemorate the victims of the Covid-19 respiratory disease.
During the national mourning day, flags were flown at half-mast across China and at Chinese embassies around the world. All public entertainment activities were suspended. A three-minute silence began across China at 10 a.m., while sirens, car horns, trains and ships sounded simultaneously.
In addition, on April 3, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman said that foreign diplomats should stop coming to Beijing, after China temporarily banned most foreigners from entering the country to prevent the epidemic from "spilling back" from abroad.
record number of deaths in one day in the US
In the past 24 hours, the United States recorded a record number of deaths due to Covid-19 of 1,480 people. This is also the highest number of deaths recorded in 24 hours in a country affected by the Covid-19 epidemic in the world so far.
In New York state, the total number of deaths from the coronavirus has reached a level equivalent to the total number of people killed in the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, nearly 3,000 people.
According to Reuters news agency, Mayor of New York City (the epicenter of the US epidemic), Mr. Bill de Blasio, said his city has only a few days left to prepare for the worst of the epidemic.
The number of people who died from Covid-19 in New York City accounts for more than a quarter of the total number of deaths in the US
Also according to Reuters, President Trump said he will let state governors decide whether to issue stay-at-home orders in their respective states.
The number of infections in New York exceeds 100,000
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said on April 3 that in the past 24 hours, there were 10,482 more people infected with Covid-19, pushing the total number of infections to 102,863, making New York the first administrative unit in the world to have the number of infections surpass 100,000.
According to the US Department of Defense, newly built field hospitals in New York will begin accepting patients on April 4.
The US will test people who come close to the president and vice president.
"Starting today, anyone expected to come into close contact with either leader will be tested for the coronavirus to determine if they are a presymptomatic or asymptomatic carrier, in order to limit the inadvertent spread of the virus," a White House spokesman announced on March 3.
Mike Pence (left) and Donald Trump (right)
The White House uses Abbott Laboratory's rapid test, which provides results in less than 15 minutes. Trump used the kit for his second test on April 2 and continued to test negative for nCoV. Vice President Mike Pence also previously tested negative for the virus.
Trump bans export of masks
Trump invoked the Defense Production Act to ban the export of critical medical equipment as Covid-19 continues to spread. Accordingly, the acting Secretary of Homeland Security will work with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to "prevent the export of N-95 masks, medical masks, gloves, and other personal protective equipment," President Trump said at a press conference at the White House on the evening of April 3.
“We need these things immediately for domestic use, we have to have them now,” he added.
Also at a press conference on April 3, US President Donald Trump announced new government recommendations that everyone should wear masks when going out to prevent the spread of SARS-CoV-2.
“It will be truly voluntary,” Mr. Trump stressed. “You don’t have to do it, and I would choose not to do it.”
first case of infection in malvinas
On April 3, the government of the Malvinas Islands, off the southeast coast of Argentina, announced that the first resident of the territory had tested positive for SARS-CoV-2. According to the official announcement, the patient showed symptoms of infection and was hospitalized on March 31.
Malvinas Islands
The UK is expected to reach the peak of the epidemic in the next few weeks.
British Health Secretary Matt Hancock said on April 3 that the peak of the Covid-19 epidemic in the UK will come a little earlier than previously predicted, and will come in the next few weeks. He also stressed that the peak of the epidemic depends on how well people comply with social distancing measures.
On the same day, the British Government said it was rushing to build more field hospitals amid the predicted rapid increase in the number of infections - after Prime Minister Boris Johnson requested increased mass testing.
London opens world's largest field hospital
One of the UK government's first field hospitals to treat coronavirus patients has opened at ExCel London, in the east of the capital. The hospital, called NHS Nightingale, will have a maximum capacity of around 4,000 intensive care beds.
Sky News said this is the largest field hospital for treating Covid-19 in the world.
The Nightingale field hospital model will be deployed in many other cities in the UK to reserve hundreds of intensive care beds, preparing for the peak of the coronavirus epidemic and the NHS Nightingale London hospital being overloaded.
The total number of infections in France has surpassed China.
Speaking at a press conference on April 3 in Paris, French Health Minister Jerome Salomon said the total number of infections in the country increased by 44%, to 82,165, after recording 17,827 infections in nursing homes nationwide.
The number of deaths from Covid-19 in this country also increased by 61%, to 6,506, in just two days, after including statistics from nursing homes.
With this figure, France has surpassed China, becoming the 5th largest epidemic area in the world (after the US, Spain, Italy and Germany). However, Minister Salomon said it is still too early to talk about the peak of the epidemic.
In Canada, the number of Covid-19 deaths increased by 20% in one day. According to the Public Health Agency on April 3, the country recorded nearly 12,000 infections; the number of deaths from the epidemic also increased by nearly 20% since April 2.
Russia suspends all flights from April 3
According to Reuters news agency, the Russian government announced on April 3 that it would suspend all flights in and out of the country, including those bringing citizens home, from midnight on April 3 to limit the possibility of a new wave of infections. This suspension applies to all charter flights bringing Russian citizens home and taking foreigners out of Russia. Those who want to fly will have to fill in a special form provided from April 4.
The government will also set aside 500 million rubles ($6.5 million) for the Foreign Ministry to cover the costs of temporary stay for Russian citizens stranded abroad in this situation.
On the same day, Deputy Mayor of Moscow, Ms. Anastasia Rakova, said that children infected with SARS-CoV-2 are spreading the disease in this city.
According to Ms. Rakova, there are many sick children in Moscow and these are the "strong sources of infection" that cause all of their relatives to become sick.
Germany turns country's largest stadium into field hospital
Westfalen, Germany's largest stadium with more than 80,000 seats, will be converted into a field hospital on April 4 - Borussia Dortmund club confirmed in a statement on April 3.
In addition, a spokesman for German Chancellor Angela Merkel said that Ms. Merkel had just finished her self-isolation period and returned to work as usual on April 3. Previously, she had to self-isolate and work from home after coming into contact with a doctor infected with Covid-19 on March 20.
EU to repatriate more than 250,000 citizens
"We have brought 350,000 people home but 250,000 are still stuck, many activities are being deployed," said the European Union's (EU) high representative for security and foreign policy, Josep Borrell, at a press conference on April 3.
"We will continue to work, although it is getting harder every day. Airlines are grounding their planes and closing their airspace. But little by little, they will all be able to go home," Borrell said.
The United Nations General Assembly passed a resolution calling for "international cooperation"
On April 3, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution calling for "international cooperation" and "multilateralism" in the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic. This is the international body's first document on Covid-19 since the outbreak, according to AFP news agency.
Switzerland, Indonesia, Singapore, Norway, Liechtenstein and Ghana submitted the draft resolution, which was approved by 188 out of 193 member states.
The resolution also stressed "the need to respect human rights" and "there is no room for any form of discrimination, racism and xenophobia in the response to the pandemic".
Unlike resolutions passed by the UN Security Council, resolutions passed by the UN General Assembly are not binding. However, they carry strong political weight.
Source: Government Information
