RTSun, 29 Mar 2020 17:12 UTC
© Thomas Peter / ReutersA Hainan Airlines plane taxies at Beijing Capital International in Beijing, China, March 13, 2020.
Beijing has allowed civilian air travel in its Hubei region, where the Covid-19 outbreak originally began, after a strict lockdown was lifted in all of its major cities except for Wuhan.
The first domestic passenger flight took off at midnight on Sunday as all cities in China's central Hubei Province,
with the exception for Wuhan, resumed regular civilian air travel, local media reported.
Officials earlier said that airports in the major cities of Xiangyang, Enshi and Shennongjia - all of which had been quarantined in January - are among those to reopen for domestic flights this week.Wuhan's Tianhe Airport will start passenger flights from midnight on April 8,
when the quarantine is expected to be lifted from the city. Wuhan was the original epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak, which prompted Beijing to enforce a strict lockdown in the area.
The number of new Covid-19 cases has since dropped significantly in Hubei as authorities began to gradually ease travel restrictions and prepare the cities for the resumption of normal life.
More than 81,300 Covid-19 cases have been recorded in mainland China, with over 3,200 deaths.
Comment: While China has declared victory over the spread of the coronavirus within China, they are also
warning of the possibility of a second outbreak caused by imported cases. Thai inmates sparked a
jail riot over fears of catching the virus. Singapore, which has one of the lowest rates of case-doubling in the world so far,
nullified a man's passport for violating a self-quarantine order. Germany registered fewer new cases than they did in the last few days -
under 4k. But German officials are still
issuing dire warnings, e.g., that the health care system could buckle like in Italy. Spain saw another record day of tallied deaths (allegedly Covid-related), but the rate of new infections
dropped, as in Germany. Italy's economy minister
clashed with European Commission chief von der Leyen after she said the EU would not issue "corona bonds" to help affected countries:
"The commission president's words were a mistake and I regret that she made them," Italian Economy Minister Roberto Gualtieri told reporters at a news conference on Saturday, stressing that Europe needs "a great Marshall Plan" to keep its economy afloat.
...
In an interview with DPA, von der Leyen did not rule out the idea of 'corona bonds' but said that they were "not the plan" the EU was working on. "The word corona bond is actually just a buzzword," she said. The option was similarly dismissed by German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who said that creating 'corona bonds' was "not... the view of all EU countries."
Trumps Covid advisor, Dr. Fauci, is also issuing dire
predictions, presumably pulled out of thin air (or somewhere less pleasant):
New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut residents have all been
advised to avoid non-essential travel for 14 days. The
husband of a Netanyahu adviser reportedly tested positive. Iran
confirmed 2,901 new cases, and IRGC chief Salami
issued the following advice to the U.S.:
The American leadership should "really care about the lives of their people in New York and the states involved with coronavirus rather than thinking about Hollywood scenarios and killing people in Iraq," Major General Hossein Salami, Chief Commander of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), pointed out.
...
Salami reminded his audience that Washington has already "tested the power" of Tehran and "knows very well how Iran will react to any efforts to undermine it." Claims by some US officials that they will continue to "carry out limited operations against the Iranians" were "nothing more than a political bluff."
So, instead of causing havoc around the globe and only "deteriorating its own power," the America had better keep its military at home "like Iran, which has used its armed forces to fight the coronavirus," IRGC chief said.
The rate of deaths in the UK
dropped today, but the
first UK healthcare worker died from the virus. Russia's emergency plan
may cut into their economic growth.
Moscow issued a stay-at-home order for the city (just short of full quarantine). Mayor Sobyanin
said:
"The situation with the spread of the coronavirus has entered a new stage. More than 1,000 cases of have been recorded in Moscow already. No one is safe [from getting infected]," Sobyanin wrote on his blog on Sunday.
...
"Please, stay safe. All Moscow residents must stay home in the coming week. If you are on the street or at the store, maintain safe distance," he warned. "Everyone is seeing what is happening in Italian and Spanish cities, in New York where tens and hundreds are dying daily."
Just because things are particularly bad in Italy, that doesn't imply that things will be that bad elsewhere. For whatever reasons (in addition to the mere presence of the virus), Italy seems hardest hit.
See also:
Comment: While China has declared victory over the spread of the coronavirus within China, they are also warning of the possibility of a second outbreak caused by imported cases. Thai inmates sparked a jail riot over fears of catching the virus. Singapore, which has one of the lowest rates of case-doubling in the world so far, nullified a man's passport for violating a self-quarantine order. Germany registered fewer new cases than they did in the last few days - under 4k. But German officials are still issuing dire warnings, e.g., that the health care system could buckle like in Italy. Spain saw another record day of tallied deaths (allegedly Covid-related), but the rate of new infections dropped, as in Germany. Italy's economy minister clashed with European Commission chief von der Leyen after she said the EU would not issue "corona bonds" to help affected countries: Trumps Covid advisor, Dr. Fauci, is also issuing dire predictions, presumably pulled out of thin air (or somewhere less pleasant):
New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut residents have all been advised to avoid non-essential travel for 14 days. The husband of a Netanyahu adviser reportedly tested positive. Iran confirmed 2,901 new cases, and IRGC chief Salami issued the following advice to the U.S.: The rate of deaths in the UK dropped today, but the first UK healthcare worker died from the virus. Russia's emergency plan may cut into their economic growth. Moscow issued a stay-at-home order for the city (just short of full quarantine). Mayor Sobyanin said: Just because things are particularly bad in Italy, that doesn't imply that things will be that bad elsewhere. For whatever reasons (in addition to the mere presence of the virus), Italy seems hardest hit.
See also: