Authorities in Gaza confirmed the first two cases of the novel coronavirus. The victims are identified as Palestinians who had travelled to Pakistan and were being held in quarantine since their return. The United Nations has warned that a COVID-19 outbreak in Gaza could be disastrous keeping in mind the high poverty rates and weak health system in the coastal strip under Israeli blockade since 2007.
Italy on Saturday shut all non-essential factories after recording another record coronavirus toll that brought its fatalities to 4,825. The country’s Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said that they will stop down the country’s productive engine, but we will not stop it. Italy has notched a rapid succession of records that seemed unimaginable when a retired Italian builder became the first person in Europe to die of the new illness.
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has temporarily barred entry to all passengers due to the coronavirus outbreak. The passengers except UAE and Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) nationals (excluding those from Qatar), and diplomatic passport-holders are prohibited to enter. The notification issued by the UAE Supreme Council for National Security said that temporary travel restriction was effective immediately, starting 8am (GMT) or 12pm (UAE local time) and until further notice.
Indian army has denied entry to sports journalists returning back to India after covering the Pakistan Super League (PSL) 2020 that came to an end due to the rising coronavirus cases in Pakistan. The army refused the 29 members of the broadcast crew to enter their country at the Wagah-Attari border crossing and were asked to head to Dubai first and then catch a direct flight for India.
Foreign minister of Germany, Heiko Maas said Monday the rights to coronavirus vaccine research were not for sale. Followed by reports, Donald Trump wanted the US to buy exclusive access to a potential vaccine developed by a German biotech firm. According to Maas, researchers play a leading role in drug and vaccine development and they cannot allow others to seek exclusive results.
Saudi Arabia said Saturday it would suspend international flights for two weeks in response to the coronavirus outbreak. Saudi Arabia has recorded 86 cases of the virus so far, but no deaths, according to the health ministry. The Kingdom had already halted flights to some countries and closed schools and universities as part of measures to contain the disease.
Qatar has temporarily banned entry from Pakistan and 13 other countries to limit the spread of the novel coronavirus. Entry has been temporarily suspended for people from Bangladesh, China, Egypt, India, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Syria and Thailand. The country’s Government Communications Office made the announcement on Sunday after Qatar Airways suspended flights to and from Italy.
Iran’s death toll from coronavirus reached 145 on Saturday after another 21 people were confirmed to have died during the last day. Announcing the latest deaths from the virus, a health ministry official said in a televised briefing that the tally of confirmed infections had increased by more than 1,000 during the last 24 hours, totaling 5,823 by Saturday.
Facebook said it was shutting its London office and part of its Singapore base for “deep cleaning” after an employee in the Asian city-state was diagnosed with coronavirus. A staff member working at the US technology giant’s Marina One office in Singapore was on Friday diagnosed with COVID-19. Facebook has already closed its Shanghai office until further notice, while employees in Italy and South Korea have been encouraged to work from home.
A recent foreign media report has revealed that the Modi-led government of India is planning to stop Pakistan’s share of river water from flowing into Pakistan by the end of this year. Indian authorities are working on a plan to stop 2 TMC of water from the Ujh River, a branch of Ravi, flowing through the Kathua district of Indian Occupied Kashmir.