Australia declares emergency, warns coronavirus crisis could last 6 months

SYDNEY - Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Wednesday declared a "human biosecurity emergency" and said the country's citizens should abandon all overseas travel because of the coronavirus epidemic that he warned could last at least 6 months.

The formal declaration gives the government the power to close off cities or regions, impose curfews and order people to quarantine, if deemed necessary to contain the spread of the virus.

The upgrade in official advice to an unprecedented "Level 4: Do not travel" to any country in the world, was accompanied by a ban on any non-essential indoor gatherings of more than 100 people.

"Life is changing in Australia, as it is changing all around the world," Morrison said during a televised news conference. "Life is going to continue to change, as we deal with the global coronavirus. This is a once in a hundred year type event."

Australia has recorded more than 500 coronavirus infections and 6 deaths, a relatively small number compared to other countries, but officials are growing increasingly concerned about the prospect of an exponential rise in cases.

New South Wales, the country's most populous state, reported its biggest 1-day surge in new cases on Wednesday, along with the country's latest death, an 86-year-old man who died in a Sydney hospital.

Morrison said the tighter ban on indoor social gatherings, down to 100 people from 500 people, did not include essential services like schools, public transport and shopping centers.

The Australian leader cited expert health guidance as the rationale for keeping schools open, a strategy that has been questioned by some experts. Several private schools have made the unilateral decision to close ahead of the upcoming Easter break.

Morrison reiterated the need for social distancing and good hand hygiene to curb the spread of the virus and announced restricted access to aged care homes.

Anybody who travels during a Level 4 ban is warned that the Australian government may not be able to assist if they get into trouble while abroad, according the government's official SmartTraveller website. It also recommends people already in a "do not travel" area consider leaving.

Shortly before Morrison's statement, the government unveiled a A$715 million ($430 million) aid package for airlines, including waivers on domestic air traffic control fees. Virgin Australia Holdings Ltd has suspended all international flights from March 30 to June 14, while Qantas Airways Ltd has cut its international capacity by 90 percent.

The widening restrictions on travel and domestic movement are expected to take a significant toll on Australia's tourism, retail and entertainment sectors.

Economists are predicting the country will slip into its first recession in nearly 3 decades in the first half of 2020, prompting a rapid jump in unemployment.

'IT'S UN-AUSTRALIAN'

The expectations have weighed on Australia's financial markets, with the local share market falling more than 6 percent on Wednesday. Earlier this week, the Australian share market posted its biggest 1-day loss since 1987.

Morrison has already flagged a stimulus package worth around A$17 billion and said on Wednesday the government was "considering quite extensive further economic measures" to dull the impact on the economy.

The Reserve Bank of Australia this week pumped liquidity into money markets and said it will make a monetary policy announce on Thursday at 0330 GMT.

However, while the epidemic is expected to crimp consumer spending in the long run, data from the official statistics agency released on Wednesday showed a 0.4 percent rise in retail sales in February as people bought up staples in preparation for shortages.

The country's major grocers, Coles Group Ltd and Woolworths Group Ltd, have increased sales restrictions in response to the panic buying on goods including toilet paper, milk, meat, flour, rice, hand sanitizer, eggs and frozen vegetables.

They have also introduced exclusive shopping sessions for the elderly and the disabled early in the day, when stores have been restocked.

Morrison issued blunt advice on Wednesday that the hoarding was unnecessary and counter-productive.

"Stop doing it. It’s ridiculous," he said. "It’s un-Australian, and it must stop."

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Yay or nay: 'Payday' loans for financial emergencies

MANILA - Availing a payday loan for financial emergencies may be convenient, but is it a wise move?

A payday loan is an amount of money lent at a high interest rate, on the agreement that it will be repaid when the borrower receives the next paycheck.

To pay for the loan, a borrower has to issue a post-dated check in the amount that he and lender has agreed upon. The lender then holds on to the check and cashes it on the agreed date, which is usually the borrower's next pay day.

Despite its convenience, Fitz Villafuerte, a registered financial planner, warned that payday loans can lead to more problems.

Whereas personal loans happen through credible, regulated financial institutions that are part of the system, getting a payday loan from people you don't know is an unpredictable practice that may leave you in a bad place.

Some lenders also require borrowers to surrender their ATMs, which can lead to problems, like lenders taking more money than what is borrowed from them.

For Villafuerte, if taking out a loan is unavoidable, then it is better to get one from your company or a bank.

"If there's a payday loan offered by the company, I would say that's the better option because at least, automatic deduction na siya sa salary mo. However, if your company does not offer that, then availing of one sa bank is also okay. However, make sure that the reason you're buying money is an emergency," he said.

He also said that building an emergency fund can help save one from living from paycheck to paycheck.

"The best way to really avoid getting a payday loan is to have money saved in the bank specifically for emergencies. It's good that payday loans are available, but make it as the last resort to get money if there is a financial emergency," Villafuerte said.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Fireworks injuries rise to 186 before New Year

MANILA – Philippine officials Monday reported more injuries from fireworks as the emergency services braced for a night of thunderous and sometimes deadly merrymaking to usher in the new year.

Injuries linked to firecrackers have risen to 186 since the Christmas weekend, including 33 with eye injuries and six victims who had limbs amputated, the health department announced.

The number stood at 171 on Sunday.

Casualties are expected to peak as the revelry hits a crescendo at midnight, said Emmanuel Bello, emergency ward chief at East Avenue Medical Center, one of Manila's biggest state hospitals that has treated 22 cases.

"Most of the adult casualties stem from drunkenness. They drink and then they set off firecrackers," said Bello, who has called in all of the hospital's more than 100 burns, orthopaedic and emergency care specialists.

"If they lose their thumbs and index fingers they lose most of the functions of their hand and so they are unable to work, condemning their families to hardship," Bello, a bone surgeon, told AFP.

However the majority of casualties are children aged 10 or younger who may be unaware of the dangers of fireworks, he added.

The health department said one person was also wounded by a stray bullet, likely from the Filipino tradition of celebratory gunfire in the air.

Filipino families celebrate Christmas and New Year by buying and setting off large quantities of fireworks which emit ear-splitting noise and black powder smoke, causing some communities to resemble war zones.

The government reported 454 firecracker-related injuries as 2012 was welcomed in.

National police chief Alan Purisima said the capital's slums were being closely watched because of the threat of blazes from wayward fireworks.

President Benigno Aquino's spokesman Ramon Carandang, commenting on Twitter Monday, pleaded: "New Year-related injuries will peak in the next 24 hours. Don't be a statistic. Party on... but do it safely."

source: abs-cbnnews.com

Five missing after Japan refinery tunnel collapse

TOKYO -- Divers were searching for five workers after an undersea tunnel collapsed at one of Japan's biggest oil refineries Tuesday, emergency services said.

Six people were in the partially constructed tunnel at Kurashiki, 550 kilometres (350 miles) west of Tokyo, when it caved in, but one managed to get out, a spokesman for the city fire department said.

The survivor "said that sea water came gushing in" and flooded the tunnel, according to the spokesman.

The accident happened at Mizushima Refinery, operated by JX Nippon Oil and Energy Corp.

"Police divers have begun their work searching for the missing," the spokesman said.

The refinery, which began operation in 1961, has capacity to process 365,000 barrels of oil per day and produces fuel oil, lubricant and various petrochemical products.

It also serves as a hub for the heavy industrial district of the city.

The tunnel, designed ultimately to be U-shaped, was about 11 metres (36 feet) in diameter and 30 metres deep, the fire department spokesman said. It stretched for about 140 metres.

Construction had begun in 2010, local reports said.

Aerial television footage broadcast by NHK showed muddy water littered with debris filling the vertical entrance shaft.

Several divers could be seen in the water, as many other emergency workers looked on.

JX Nippon Oil is Japan's largest oil company, which specialises in petroleum and petrochemical refinery, along with imports of gas and coal, according to the company website.

source: interaksyon.com