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The Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV) has now spread to 27 countries and territories worldwide. There are 17,387 confirmed cases and 362 deaths as of this morning. Welcome to our Monday morning update as we enter a new month with the coronavirus still growing , both inside China and outside, with the first death outside China over the weekend – a 44 year old Chinese visitor to The Philippines. Thailand currently has 19 confirmed cases of the virus with 7 people already fully recovered and going home. One of the cases is a Bangkok taxi driver who was confirmed with the Coronavirus on Friday and had never visited China. In other milestones… • Doctors in Thailand claim they discovered a medical treatment that cured a patient of coronavirus ‘in 48 hours’. Dr. Kriangsak Atipornwanich, from Rajavithi Hospital in Bangkok, says he treated a 71 year old female from China with a combination of drugs used in HIV and flu treatments. He said the patient had previously been treated with only ... » Learn More about Coronavirus UPDATE – Confirmed cases exceed 17,000, 362 deaths

RICHARD A. REYES / INQUIRER MANILA, Philippines — Technical issues are delaying the release of other allowances to healthcare workers attending to COVID-19 patients, the Department of Health (DOH) said Wednesday. “Meron pong mga technical issues sa mga ibang hospital kung bakit hindi pa nila ma-release ang ibang allowances ng ating mga healthcare workers, pero ito po ay inaayos na sa ngayon,” Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said in an interview on ABS-CBN’s Teleradyo, but did not elaborate. (Some hospitals have technical issues that’s why they have yet to release other allowances of healthcare workers, but this is currently being addressed.) Vergeire added that hospitals should regularly subject their healthcare workers to COVID-19 testing amid the rising number of infected frontliners. Health Undersecretary Rosario Vergeire (INQUIRER FILE PHOTO / EDWIN BACASMAS) Healthcare workers are also receiving additional incentives, hazard pay, and risk allowances ... » Learn More about Technical issues delaying release of healthcare workers’ allowances — DOH

MANILA, Philippines — More than 162,000 individuals have been fully vaccinated or received two doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, the Department of Health (DOH) and the National Task Force against COVID-19 (NTF) reported Wednesday. Data from the DOH and the NTF showed 162,065 Filipinos have been given their second doses of the COVID-19 vaccine. More than 162,000 individuals have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19, data from the DOH and NTF COVID-19 shows @inquirerdotnet pic.twitter.com/Vtr77w4cex — Krissy Aguilar (@KAguilarINQ) April 14, 2021 Meanwhile, some 1,093,651 Filipinos have been inoculated with the vaccine’s first dose. The government has recently started simultaneously vaccinating health workers, senior citizens and persons with comorbidities. With the arrival of 500,000 procured CoronaVac developed by China’s Sinovac, the DOH and NTF said the country already has more than three million doses of vaccines. Of this figure, 2.8 million doses were ... » Learn More about Over 162,000 Filipinos fully vaccinated vs COVID-19

BEIJING — China’s imports and exports boomed again in March, data showed Tuesday, reaffirming the recovery in the world’s number-two economy continues apace and demand picks up in key overseas markets as they emerge from last year’s virus crisis. The readings highlight the impact of vaccines and the easing of containment measures are having, with expectations for further improvement over the next few months. Imports soared a forecast-busting 38.1 percent on-year as the country’s army of consumers increasingly returned to some form of normality after last year’s crisis forced businesses to shut and people to stay at home. The figure was a huge increase from the 22.2 percent rise seen in January-February and the biggest hike since February 2017. Exports rose 30.6 percent, well off the 38 percent increase tipped in a Bloomberg forecast but still among the highest readings since early 2018. Overseas shipments jumped more than 60 percent in January-February. The outsized increases ... » Learn More about China’s imports pick up further, exports strong in March

LONDON — Britain’s economy rebounded slightly in February despite virus curbs, while exports of goods to the European Union jumped by almost 50 percent but failed to reverse January’s record Brexit-driven slump. Gross domestic product expanded by 0.4 percent in February after sinking by an upwardly-revised 2.2 percent the previous month, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said in a statement that noted a boost from industrial output and consumer spending. The economy held up despite England’s renewed Covid-19 lockdown, which was implemented in early January but partially eased this week owing to a rapid vaccination drive. From Monday, pubs were allowed to serve drinks outside — and non-essential retailers and hairdressers reopened as well. The phased reopening has sparked hopes for a rebound in economic activity in the current second quarter, or three months to June. The ONS added however on Tuesday that the nation’s economy remains 7.8 percent smaller than its ... » Learn More about Britain’s economy and EU exports advance in February

SINGAPORE - An average of 3,920 transnational couples a year between 2015 and 2020 applied to undergo an assessment before they say "I do" that looks at the likelihood of the foreigner qualifying for a long-term visit pass after the marriage to the Singaporean. The Pre-marriage Long Term Visit Pass Assessment also allows such couples to "exchange key information about themselves", including their spouses and children from previous marriages, their income and criminal records, said a spokesman for the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA). It was introduced in January 2015 amid a significant number of transnational marriages here. In 2019, 4,426 Singaporean men wed non-resident brides - making up one in five marriages involving at least one citizen, according to the Government's Population In Brief 2020 report. Social workers and lawyers who work with foreign wives said some of these couples marry after meeting a few times, or after a very brief courtship, and hardly know their ... » Learn More about S’poreans marrying foreigners: 3,900 couples a year do pre-marriage visa assessment before saying ‘I do’

As a consultant emergency physician at National University Hospital, Dr Ong Pei Yuin has had to tend to potential Covid-19 patients. The 42-year-old strives to calm and reassure them as she tests them for the disease. She understands their emotional turbulence: She herself was a Sars patient. When Covid-19 hit Singapore in January, she felt a dreaded sense of deja vu. "Oh, it was like Sars all over again. I don't want to go through it all over again." In 2003, she contracted the severe acute respiratory syndrome (Sars), never felt sicker in her life and was warded for 14 days in hospital. She was 26 then, a first-year medical officer at Tan Tock Seng Hospital, the designated hospital to treat Sars patients. She was also a bride-to-be. It started with a high fever that refused to break. And she almost blacked out one morning after getting out of bed. She remembers the unremitting fever, the chills and the body aches. She also came down with pneumonia. "It was the ... » Learn More about Sars survivor helps tend to potential Covid-19 patients

KUCHING: A wedding ceremony in Kampung Jepak, Bintulu, has resulted in a new Covid-19 cluster, which comes as Sarawak reported 489 new cases and five deaths on Wednesday (April 14). The state disaster management committee said the index case of the Jepak cluster was a woman from the village who organised the "doa selamat" ceremony for the wedding on April 3. She tested positive on April 7 after undergoing screening for symptomatic individuals at the Bintulu health clinic. "About 70 people attended the ceremony. After screening of close contacts, family members and casual contacts of the index case and those present at the ceremony, another 41 positive cases were detected," the committee said in a statement on Wednesday. It said 102 people had been screened from the cluster, with 36 testing negative and 24 still awaiting results. The committee also said new cases were detected in the Tembok Sri Aman prison cluster and Jalan Puncak Borneo police training centre cluster, ... » Learn More about Bintulu wedding source of new cluster in Sarawak

IPOH: Several trees were uprooted following a thunderstorm here on Wednesday (April 14). One fell on the road adjacent to the North-South Expressway, just before the slip road into Bercham, causing traffic to stall. Other areas with reported incidents included Taman Ria, Kampung Tasek, Taman Bercham Maju, and Taman Kemuncak. According to a state Fire and Rescue Departments spokesman, they received reports of some of the incidents at 4.45pm. “Some of the trees fell due to strong wind. “Work to remove the trees is now underway, ” the spokesman said. Lawyer Anthony Law said fallen trees and branches were found in several areas in Bercham. Law, whose office is in Pusat Bandar Baru Bercham, said the obstructions caused by the branches caused traffic congestion in the area. “The thunderstorm, which started at about 2pm and lasted until about 3.30pm, was quite heavy. “The wind that blew was also quite strong, and similar to that of a whirlwind, ” he said. According to an ... » Learn More about Trees uprooted in storm over Ipoh

BERLIN (Reuters) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel faced opposition on Wednesday to a plan to seek new powers to force coronavirus lockdowns on areas with high infection rates, with the imposition of curfews drawing particular fire given the country's authoritarian past. As infections rise rapidly and hospital beds fill up, Merkel's government is pushing parliament to change the Infection Protection Act to enable federal authorities to enforce restrictions even if regional leaders resist them. Reiner Haseloff, premier of the eastern state of Saxony-Anhalt, said it was more important to motivate people to cooperate in order to get infections under control rather than banning them from leaving home at night. "If no one cooperates anymore, then we have a problem. Then it doesn't matter how many laws we make," Haseloff, a member of Merkel's Christian Democrats, told MDR television. Haseloff's Saxony-Anhalt region currently has the third highest infection rate in Germany, behind ... » Learn More about Merkel under fire over German COVID-19 lockdown law