Health

JERUSALEM, Mar 21 (NNN-XINHUA) – Israel’s Ministry of Health, reported the first COVID-19 death in the country, on Friday.

The patient, aged 88, suffered from many other diseases. He was in a serious condition, when admitted, at the hospital’s quarantined ward, a week ago.

During his hospitalisation, he underwent a cardiac event, said the ministry.

Earlier on Friday, the ministry said, a total of 705 COVID-19 cases have been diagnosed in Israel, so far.

JERUSALEM, Mar 21 (NNN-MA’AN) – Israel has decided to allow only 30 percent of workers to enter workplaces, in both business and public sectors, the state’s finance ministry announced.

The Israeli government has approved emergency regulations for this purpose.

The government has moved to an emergency mode, that will provide essential services, such as food, medicine and financial services.

The ministry noted that private businesses could remain open, if they follow current regulations.

KIGALI, Mar 21 (NNN-AGENCIES) – Rwanda announced that, it suspended tourism and research activities in three primate-dominated national parks effective immediately.

Tourism and research activities have been temporarily suspended in and around three national parks of primates, namely, Volcanoes, Mukura-Gishwati and Nyungwe, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Rwanda Development Board said in a statement.

BERLIN, Mar 21 (NNN-AGENCIES) – The number of COVID-19 cases in Germany has increased by 2,958 within one day to 13,957, the German federal disease control agency Robert Koch Institute (RKI), announced.

So far, 31 deaths had been recorded by RKI, 11 more than a day before. Other European countries, such as France, Spain and especially Italy, where more than 3,400 people died, reported much higher numbers.

TOKYO, Mar 21 (NNN-NHK) – Japan’s health ministry and local governments, said today that, the number of COVID-19 infections nationwide had risen to 1,016 cases as of 9:00 p.m. Friday local time.

The death toll currently stands at 43 people, according to the health ministry, with the figure including those from the virus-hit Diamond Princess cruise ship, that was quarantined in Yokohama, close to Tokyo.

20 Mar 2020; MEMO: A group of Iranian scientists has warned that nearly 3.5 million people will die of the coronavirus in the country if strict quarantine measures are not implemented.

An Iranian news site published the report prepared by a team of researchers headed by Professor Ali Taqi Mashayekhi at Sharif University of Technology which includes three scenarios for the possible effects of the coronavirus outbreak in Iran.

Los Angeles, Mar 20 (AFP/PTI) Italy has surpassed China as the country with the most deaths from coronavirus as California, home to more than 39 million people, was placed under lockdown in the most drastic containment measure yet by a US state.

President Donald Trump said meanwhile that the United States is fast-tracking antimalarial drugs for use as a treatment and lashed out at China for not informing the world earlier about the original outbreak.

Islamabad, Mar 20 (PTI) The World Bank and the Asian Development Bank have committed to providing USD 588 million to Pakistan for its emergency response to fight the coronavirus and to address the socioeconomic impact of the pandemic, a media report said on Friday.

According to an official statement, the World Bank would provide USD 238 million and the Asian Develo pment Bank (ADB) USD 350 million to Pakistan in support for the COVID-19 emergency response and to tackle the socio-economic disruption associated with it.

Kuala Lumpur, Mar 20 (AFP/PTI) Malaysia will deploy the army to support police in enforcing tough restrictions to halt the spread of the coronavirus because many people are flouting isolation rules, a minister said Friday.

People have been told to stay at home and all schools and most businesses have closed, while Malaysians are barred from travelling overseas and foreigners from entering the country.

Chandigarh, Mar 20 (PTI) In a first such case in Punjab, a 26-year-old woman suspected to be suffering from coronavirus was booked for fleeing from the hospital here, police said on Friday.

The woman, a resident of Mohali, had returned from the US and was taken to a government hospital in Chandigarh for a check up.