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HEALTH-VIRUS-ASIA POINTS-NEWSERIES
Asia virus latest: China sets date for congress; Australia nets tests
SINGAPORE, April 29, 2020 (BSS/AFP) – Here are the latest developments
from Asia related to the novel coronavirus pandemic:
– China legislature to meet after virus delay –
China’s top legislature will hold its annual session next month after
postponing the meeting for the first time in decades due to the coronavirus
outbreak, official news agency Xinhua said.
The Communist Party leadership announced in February that it would put off
the annual National People’s Congress (NPC) for the first time since the
Cultural Revolution as the country battled the outbreak, which has since
become a pandemic.
The rescheduled session on May 22 will be seen as a sign of confidence by
the leadership that the country has largely brought its outbreak under
control.
– Australia nets 10 mn Chinese tests despite diplomatic row –
An Australian mining magnate unveiled a deal to import 10 million
coronavirus tests from China to Australia, despite a bitter diplomatic spat
between the two countries.
Andrew Forrest, head of mining giant Fortescue, said he had used contacts
to secure an order for the tests with Chinese genomics firm BGI Group at a
significantly lower cost than from rival providers, amid fierce competition.
– Asian equities build on gains as more nations ease lockdowns – Asian
markets rose again, buoyed by a further easing of coronavirus lockdown
measures, though the advances remain capped by concern that the reopenings
could spark a second wave of infections.
– Indonesia closes companies for breaking virus rules – Authorities in the
Indonesian capital Jakarta have temporarily closed the operations of some 100
companies found to have defied orders not to do business during the pandemic.
More than 500 other firms which are still allowed to operate were issued
warnings for breaching health protocols by not enforcing mandatory mask
wearing and social distancing, officials said.
– Taliban warn of ‘revenge’ if prisoners die of COVID-19 –
The Taliban warned they would seek revenge if any of their members
currently held by Afghan authorities were to die from the coronavirus.
“All sides must understand that if the prisoners… are lost, each one
will be asked about and revenge taken upon the cold-hearted enemy,” the
insurgents said in a statement after Afghan authorities confirmed at least 46
cases of COVID-19 among the country’s prison population.
The Taliban and the Kabul administration are locked in a bitter standoff
over a delayed prisoner swap outlined in a deal between the US and the
insurgents in February.
– Australia’s Warner says England tour ‘highly unlikely’ –
Veteran batsman David Warner believes Australia’s upcoming limited-overs
tour of England will be scrapped because of the coronavirus pandemic.
The Australians were scheduled to play three one-dayers and three Twenty20
matches against England in July, although changes to the English country
cricket season now make that impossible.
Meanwhile, state authorities warned Australia’s National Rugby League that
next month’s restarted season could end immediately if players continue to
flout lockdown rules.
– Vietnam draws on propaganda artists in battle against virus –
A 76-year-old Vietnamese painter who has spent his life making propaganda
art for the Communist government has turned his brush to the coronavirus,
designing posters that have popped up across Hanoi.
Tran Duy Truc was picked to create the COVID-19-themed work after a
contest run by Vietnamese authorities.
– Covid, Corona and Lockdown: the newborns named after a pandemic –
First there was Corona Kumar, then Covid Marie: parents have taken to
naming newborns after the coronavirus, apparently unperturbed by the prospect
of their children being forever associated with a deadly pandemic.
When Colline Tabesa gave birth to a healthy baby girl in the central
Philippine city of Bacolod on April 13, she and the father John Tupas decided
to mark the occasion with a show of gratitude.
“I wanted her name to remind us that COVID did not only bring us
suffering. Despite all of this, a blessing came to us,” said 23-year-old
Tupas.
And so, Covid Marie it was.
BSS/AFP/MRU/1712hrs