Prince Harry has served the British army for more than ten years and a result of his longstanding service, he could potentially be called back to rejoin the army in this time of unsettling chaos caused by COVID-19. News regarding this possibility came out after the army’s official website put out a notice stating, “We value your previous service, and if you’re thinking of coming back, there’s a job waiting for you”.
Murree Brewery has gotten the go-ahead from the Punjab excise and taxation department to start making hand sanitizer. According to the company’s CEO, they have been given permission to make 10,000 gallons of sanitizer per month till June 2020. Earlier this week, the brewery offered to mass produce and sell hand sanitizer with 70 percent alcohol to help fight the coronavirus outbreak in Pakistan.
All international football matches scheduled for June were postponed on Friday following the first FIFA coronavirus working group’s meeting. The decision to postpone all planned women’s international in June was also taken during the meeting. Discussions will be held with confederations to draw up a revised schedule for 2022 World Cup qualifiers which have been shelved.
After scientists suspected that the novel coronavirus was passed to humans from animals, the Chinese province of Shenzhen banned the eating of cats and dogs. According to research, some of the earliest infections were found in people who had exposure to a wildlife market in Wuhan where bats, snakes, civets and other animals were sold.
J.K. Rowling is hoping a dash of Harry Potter will help homebound families during the coronavirus pandemic. The author has launched an online initiative, www.harrypotterathome.com, which features quizzes, games and other activities. Rowling’s British and American print publishers, Bloomsbury and Scholastic, will contribute materials to the Potter web site and to their own web sites.
UAE lifted the ban on various Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) services to encourage the citizens to stay home amidst the coronavirus outbreak. Last week the government made Microsoft Teams, Skype for Business, Zoom, and Blackboard available in the country. A week after that, the government, realizing the importance of working from home in these testing times, has lifted the ban of Google Hangouts Meet, Cisco Webex, Avaya Spaces, BlueJeans, and Slack as well.
All airplanes have to be thoroughly disinfected before boarding passengers, the Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority announced. The authority issued an advisory for all national and international airlines operating in Pakistan. It ordered the companies to add coronavirus in their health declaration forms. It also stated that during the flights, all passengers and flight attendants should be provided face masks.
The Punjab government has completely locked down Raiwind over fears that the coronavirus may spread from there. The Raiwind Tablighi Centre has been declared a quarantine centre for foreigners. Multiple members of the Tablighi Jamaat have tested positive for the coronavirus, with 94 cases being confirmed in Sindh, 32 in Punjab and 16 in Islamabad. Members of the Jamaat are being tested.
Asia Cup 2020 is the latest sporting event expected to be cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic. A Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) official mentioned that it can be assumed that Asia Cup is not a possibility for now as the extent of the COVID-19 is unknown. Similarly, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is also not optimistic on the fate of the regional cricketing tournament.
The Edhi and Chhipa morgues have shut down in Karachi over fears of spreading the coronavirus. According to the Chhipa Welfare Organisation, their morgue has been closed for an indefinite period of time. The facilities for ghusal and burial are not going to be available either. The organisation has appealed to people not to bring bodies to the morgue as there is a threat of the coronavirus spreading via the bodies.