Wednesday, July 29, 2020

Coronavirus returns to countries that suppressed it

2nd wave of coronavirus in countries around Asia prompts fresh lockdowns | Global News - Stephen Coates, Reuters:

July 27, 2020 - "Countries around Asia are confronting a second wave of coronavirus infections and are clamping down again to try to contain the disease....

"Hong Kong is expected to announce further restrictions on Monday including a ban on restaurant dining and mandated face masks outdoors, local media reported. The measures, which are expected to take effect from Wednesday, would be the first time the city has completely banned dining in restaurants.

"Australian authorities warned a six-week lockdown in parts of the southeastern Victoria state may last longer after the country registered its highest daily increase in infections. Most of Australia is effectively virus-free but flare-ups in the two most populous southeastern states have authorities scrambling to prevent a wider national outbreak.

"In Japan, the government said it would urge business leaders to ramp up anti-virus measures such as staggered shifts, and aimed to see rates of telecommuting achieved during an earlier state of emergency. 'At one point, commuter numbers were down by 70 to 80 per cent, but now it’s only about 30 per cent,' Economy Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura said late on Sunday.... Japan has avoided mass infections but a record surge in cases during the past week in Tokyo and other urban centers has experts worried....

"Vietnam is evacuating 80,000 people, mostly local tourists, from the central city of Danang after three residents tested positive for the coronavirus at the weekend, the government said on Monday. The Southeast Asian country is back on high alert after the government on Saturday confirmed its first community infections since April, and another three cases on Sunday, all in Danang.

"In the Philippines, President Rodrigo Duterte is ... weighing whether to re-impose stricter lockdown measures after easing them saw a dramatic surge in infections and deaths, with 62,326 cases reported since the first lockdown was relaxed June 1....

"North Korean state media reported on the weekend that the border town of Kaesong was in lockdown after a person who defected to South Korea three years ago returned this month with symptoms of COVID-19. If confirmed, it would be the first case officially acknowledged by North Korean authorities.... [In] South Korea ... Saturday’s 113 infections were the highest on a single day since March 31.

"Papua New Guinea halted entry for travelers from Monday, except those arriving by air, as it tightens curbs against infections that have more than doubled over the past week. Traditional border crossing were suspended from July 23, police chief David Manning said in a statement distributed on Monday. PNG has fluid borders with Indonesia, the Federated States of Micronesia and the Solomon Islands with people regularly crossing on foot or in small boats."

Read more: https://globalnews.ca/news/7220628/asia-second-wave-coronavirus-lockdowns/

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