Turkey's COVID-19 curfew fails to contain surging second wave

ISTANBUL - Coronavirus deaths in Turkey rose to a record for the seventh consecutive day on Sunday and the number of new cases remained high despite efforts by President Tayyip Erdogan's government to contain a second wave of infections.

Turkey is expected to report this week that its economy bounced back from a sharp coronavirus-induced slump earlier this year. But that recovery, key to Erdogan's sustained political support, could be threatened by the new outbreak.

The government introduced tighter measures a week ago including nightly curfews at weekends, restrictions on movements of people of non-working age, a move to online schooling and limiting restaurants and cafes to takeaway services.

However the moves have done little to halt a remorseless rise in cases and fatalities, with Sunday's toll of 185 dead 45% above the peak of the first wave in April, and the number of new cases behind only the United States, India and Brazil - all countries with far larger populations than Turkey.

More than 29,000 cases were reported in the last 24 hours. Saturday's figure of 30,103 was the highest recorded, but authorities have only been including asymptomatic cases - as most other countries have regularly done - since Wednesday.

Doctors and opposition politicians have called for stricter measures, but with shops, restaurants and hotels already hit by the new clampdown, the government is anxious to avoid further economic pain and said people had a personal duty to cooperate.

"Our health army is under a heavy burden," Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said on Twitter. "Each of us is responsible for following the measures."

Speaking after midday prayers on Friday, Erdogan attributed the resurgent pandemic to people flouting regulations.

"Masks and (social) distance are very important, hygiene is very important. As long as these are not heeded, especially in big cities, the increasing continuation of (the virus) becomes inevitable," he told reporters.

Opponents say the government needs to take tougher action.

"The lives lost are our lives. But we see that the government is still trying to manage the situation with band-aid measures," Meral Aksener, leader of the opposition IYI Party, said in parliament last week.

"I am calling out to Mr Erdogan from here once again - come, impose a quarantine of at least 14 days."

Celalettin Kocaturk, a specialist chest surgeon at an Istanbul hospital, echoed the call for stricter measures, saying that if the steps taken last weekend were going to be effective, they would have made a difference by now.

"Based on current data, we look to be at the top of the worldwide list of cases per population," he told Reuters. "We need to act very dynamically without waiting further."

-reuters-

Thailand ends curfew, marks 21 days with no local coronavirus cases

BANGKOK - Thailand on Monday lifted a nationwide curfew after more than two months and allowed restaurants to resume selling alcohol as the coronavirus crisis eased, with 21 days since a recorded case of local transmission.

The Southeast Asian nation of about 70 million people was the first country outside China to report a case of coronavirus, on Jan. 13, and has been a relative success story in containing it, with just 3,135 confirmed cases and 58 fatalities. Some 2,987 patients have recovered.

Officials have credited Thais' early adoption of wearing masks - ubiquitous in public since January - as well as its border closure, shuttering of many business and the curfew for the retreat of the new virus that has infected 7.9 million worldwide and killed more than 430,000.

Other establishments allowed to reopen on Monday were schools with less than 120 students, exhibition halls, music concerts, film productions, playgrounds, amusement parks and sports competitions without spectators.

Pubs, bars and karaoke outlets will remain closed, but restaurants that reopened two weeks ago with social distancing will now be able to serve alcohol.

Monday was the second time in five days that Thailand reported no new cases.

All new cases in the past three weeks have been found in quarantine among Thais returning from abroad, said Taweesin Wisanuyothin, a spokesman for the government's COVID-19 task force. 

(Reporting by Panarat Thepgumpanat; Editing by Martin Petty)

-reuters-

Saudi Arabia extends coronavirus curfew, UAE warns on worker repatriation

RIYADH/DUBAI - Saudi Arabia indefinitely extended a curfew due to the coronavirus on Sunday amid a surge of new infections, and the United Arab Emirates warned of possible action against countries refusing to allow migrant workers to be repatriated.

Since placing the capital Riyadh and other big cities under 24-hour curfew on Monday, Saudi Arabia has reported more than 300 new cases per day. The nationwide curfew, initially set for 3 weeks, runs from 3 p.m. to 6 a.m everywhere else. For both this and the 24-hour curfew, residents may go out only for essential needs.

The interior ministry announced new permits for vital personnel to move around. Violators face fines and jail time.

Saudi Arabia has recorded 4,462 infections with 59 deaths, the highest among the 6-nation Gulf Cooperation Council, where the total neared 14,100 with 96 deaths.

It expects it could reach 200,000 cases in coming weeks. It has halted international passenger flights, suspended the year-round umrah pilgrimage, and closed most public places.

Other Gulf Arab states have taken similar precautions and have seen the virus spread among low-wage foreign workers, many living in overcrowded accommodation. Millions of migrant laborers, mainly from Asian countries, including Nepal, India and the Philippines, are among the region’s large expatriate population.

Bahrain said 45 of 47 new cases reported on Sunday were foreign workers.

The United Arab Emirates, the region's tourism and business hub, has the second highest regional load at 3,736 cases and 20 deaths.

FOREIGN WORKERS

The UAE warned it would review labor ties with countries refusing to take back citizens, including those who lost their jobs or were put on leave, and said it was considering strict quotas for work visas issued to nationals of those states.

"Several countries have not been responsive about allowing back their citizens who have applied to return home under the current circumstances," the Human Resources and Emiratisation Ministry said, without specifying which countries.

India's ambassador to the UAE said on Saturday the country cannot repatriate large numbers of nationals while trying to combat the virus at home.

"Once the lockdown in India is lifted, we will certainly help them get back to their hometowns and their families," Pavan Kapoor told the Gulf News daily.

Pakistan's ambassador said the embassy was waiting for permission from Islamabad for repatriation flights and was hoping for "positive news soon".

"We are very keen to bring Pakistanis back but we need to finalize our treatment and quarantine facilities," Ghulam Dastgir told Reuters.

Aiming to contain the spread among foreign workers, Qatar has locked down a large section of an industrial area, Dubai sealed off two commercial districts and Oman closed off its Muscat governorate, which includes the capital.

Kuwait said late on Saturday airlines could operate outbound flights to repatriate foreigners.

The Saudi Food and Drug Authority approved conducting internationally refereed clinical trials at 5 hospitals to determine the effectiveness of treating the coronavirus with antivirals including those used for malaria and HIV. 

-reuters-

Saudi implements dusk-to-dawn curfew over coronavirus

RIYADH - Streets in Riyadh were deserted Monday as Saudi Arabia implemented a nationwide dusk-to-dawn curfew to limit the spread of the new coronavirus, the latest in a series of restrictions as infections soar.

Police cars warned people over loudspeakers to stay off the streets after the 11-hour curfew went into effect at 7 p.m. (1600 GMT) following a royal order from King Salman.

The curfew, which state media said would be imposed for 21 days, comes as Saudi Arabia declared 562 coronavirus infections -- the highest in the Gulf. No deaths have been reported so far. 

The Saudi royal guard, an elite internal security force, said it was working with other security agencies to implement the curfew as it released images on Twitter of a convoy of military trucks driving through the streets at dusk.

Bathed in amber light, Riyadh's main thoroughfares and public highways -- typically packed with cars -- were largely empty, though Saudis posted on social media videos of some young men who tried to breach the curfew. 

The interior ministry has warned that transgressors will be fined 10,000 Saudi riyals ($2,663) and could face jail for repeated breaches.

Health sector employees as well as security and military officials will be exempt from the curfew restrictions, according to the royal order.

King Salman warned on Thursday of a "more difficult" fight ahead against the virus, as the kingdom faces the double blow of virus-led shutdowns and crashing oil prices.

Following Saudi Arabia's calls last week for a "virtual" G20 summit, the French presidency on Monday said Paris and Beijing agreed on the need for emergency talks to coordinate an international response to the coronavirus crisis.

Saudi Arabia, which currently presides over the group, said G20 finance Ministers and central bank governors met virtually on Monday to ramp up economic efforts to address the pandemic.

The Arab world's biggest economy has closed down cinemas, malls and restaurants, halted flights and suspended the year-round umrah pilgrimage as it steps up efforts to contain the deadly virus.

Last week, the kingdom unveiled stimulus measures amounting to 120 billion riyals ($32 billion) to support businesses and said it plans to raise borrowing to 50 percent of GDP.

Saudi Arabia has also suspended prayers inside all its mosques except the holiest two sites in Islam in Mecca and Medina, a sensitive move in the deeply conservative Muslim kingdom.

The world's top crude exporter faces plunging oil prices, the mainstay of government revenue, which have slipped to around $25 a barrel to touch multi-year lows on the back of sagging demand due to the virus and a price war with Russia.

More than 1,300 coronavirus infections have been detected in the Gulf region, with most cases initially identified among travelers returning from Iran -- one of the world's worst affected countries.

Agence France-Presse

Nearly 1 billion confined to homes as virus toll nears 13,000

NEW YORK - Nearly one billion people around the world were confined to their homes Saturday as US states implemented stay-at-home orders similar to those in Europe, and as deaths from the global coronavirus pandemic surged towards 13,000.

More than a third of Americans were adjusting to life in various phases of lockdown -- including in New York, Los Angeles and Chicago, three of the country's most populous cities -- with more states expected to ramp up restrictions.

New Jersey became the latest US state to restrict movement as the fast-spreading pandemic upends lives across the planet, closing businesses, shutting schools and forcing millions to work from home.

"This is a time of shared national sacrifice, but also a time to treasure our loved ones," US President Donald Trump told a press conference. "We're going to have a great victory."

The virus death toll soared to 12,725 worldwide as worst-hit Italy reported a one-day record number of deaths -- nearly 800, with the country's overall toll shooting past 4,800 -- and Spain reported a 32 percent spike in new deaths.

France's toll jumped by 112 to 562, as police officials said helicopters and drones were being deployed to boost the government's attempts to keep people in their homes.

"The helicopters will give us a larger vision and a panoramic view of the situation in real time to help guide the patrols on the ground," a national police source said.

Nearly one billion people are now confined to their homes in 35 countries, including 600 million hemmed in by mandatory government lockdown orders, according to an AFP tally.

The measures came as pressure mounted on Olympic organizers to postpone the 2020 Tokyo Games -- and as the US Congress thrashes out an emergency economic package that could top $1 trillion.

‘MONTHS, NOT WEEKS’

With virus fears gripping the world's number one economy, New Jersey followed several other states, including California, New York and Illinois, in telling residents to stay indoors.

Governor Phil Murphy ordered all non-essential businesses to close their physical stores from 9:00 PM (0100 GMT Sunday).

And in New York, Governor Andrew Cuomo warned Saturday that the disruption is likely to last for months, not weeks.

"I don't think it's possible in a city of this size for people to maintain it for much longer than three weeks before they start losing it," said Yona Corn, a 35-year-old singer living in New York.

"I think there's going to be a big mental health crisis. I worry about what's going to happen to people," she told AFP. 

China reported no new local infections for a third straight day Saturday, and the WHO said the central city of Wuhan, where the virus first emerged late last year, offered a glimmer of "hope for the rest of the world."

But there are growing concerns of a new wave of "imported" infections in the region, with Hong Kong reporting 48 suspected cases on Friday –- its biggest daily jump since the crisis began.

Italy, a nation of 60 million, now accounts for more than a third of the world's coronavirus deaths. It has a death rate of 8.6 percent among confirmed COVID-19 infections, significantly higher than in most other countries.

France, Italy, Spain and other European countries have ordered people to stay at home, threatening fines in some cases, while Bavaria became the first region in Germany to order a lockdown.

Britain told pubs, restaurants and theaters to close and warned citizens to stop panic-buying.

While the elderly and those with pre-existing medical conditions are the hardest hit by the virus, the WHO has warned that young people are also vulnerable.

Australia's famed Bondi beach and Rio de Janeiro's beaches were ordered shut, and the normally bustling US-Mexico border was deserted as a shutdown took effect Saturday.

In the US Congress, lawmakers expressed hope of striking an agreement on a $1 trillion emergency aid package, amid fears of widespread economic fallout because of the pandemic.

Vice President Mike Pence said he and his wife would be tested for the coronavirus after one of his office staff contracted the illness.

And the US Food and Drug Administration also approved the first coronavirus test that can be conducted entirely at the point of care for a patient -- and deliver results in 45 minutes.

In sports, the USA Track and Field became the latest influential athletic body to ask for the Summer Olympics to be called off.

"The right and responsible thing to do is to prioritize everyone's health and safety," chief Max Siegel said in a letter to the US Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC).

CHINA HELP

The strict confinement measures follow the template set by China, as a lockdown imposed in Hubei province, of which Wuhan is the capital, appeared to have paid off.

Europe now accounts for more than half of the world's fatalities linked to COVID-19.

However accurate figures are difficult to reach because many of the victims suffered from other illnesses, and infection rates are uncertain because of a lack of testing in many countries.

The shadow of the novel coronavirus is lengthening across Africa and the Middle East as well.

Cases stand at more than 1,000 across Africa, where health care systems are fragile and social distancing is difficult in many crowded cities. 

The Democratic Republic of Congo, Finland, Lithuania and Mauritius all reported their first virus deaths Saturday. 

In Iran, which reported 123 new deaths Saturday, President Hassan Rouhani promised the country would overcome the outbreak -- but refused to join the rest of the world in imposing heavy restrictions.

Iran has had more than 1,500 deaths and some 20,000 infections linked to COVID-19. 

In Latin America, Bolivia ordered citizens to stay at home starting Sunday, and Colombia said it would begin mandatory isolation from Tuesday.

Agence France-Presse

Ghost town

The stretch of Tomas Morato leading all the way to ABS-CBN looks like a ghost town on Monday evening with all stores closed as Quezon City imposes a curfew from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. The city ordinance comes as the national government expanded the community quarantine on the whole island of Luzon to combat the spread of COVID-19. 

source: news.abs-cbn.com