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 Restarting
crucial industries
India is planning to restart some crucial manufacturing to ease the
difficulties of the poor, despite expectations it will extend a
21-day lockdown beyond April 15, two government sources said.
Spain lifts restrictions on some businesses on Monday after shutting
down all non-essential operations nearly two weeks ago. This will
allow businesses that cannot operate remotely, including
construction and manufacturing, to reopen. The move has been
criticised by some as risking a resurgence in the spread of the
virus.
Patients testing positive again
The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Saturday that it was
looking into reports of COVID-19 patients testing positive again
after clinically recovering from the disease.
South Korean officials had reported on Friday that 91 patients
cleared of the new coronavirus had tested positive again. Jeong
Eun-kyeong, director of the Korea Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention, told a briefing that the virus may have been
"reactivated" rather than the patients being re-infected.
Russian border becomes China's new frontline
China's northeastern border with Russia has become its new frontline
in the fight against a resurgence in the epidemic, as new daily
cases rose to a six-week high.
Half of the imported cases from the daily tally involved Chinese
nationals returning home from Russia's Far Eastern Federal District
through border crossings in the Heilongjiang province.
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Widespread testing needed
The United States needs to ramp up testing for the coronavirus as the White
House considers when and how to lift stay-at-home restrictions and lockdowns
triggered by the pandemic, U.S. health experts said on Sunday.
Diagnostic testing determines if somebody is infected with the virus and
antibody testing shows who has been infected and is therefore immune. Both will
be important in getting people back into the workplace and containing the virus
as that happens, the experts said.
'Ghosts' patrol streets to keep Indonesians indoors
An Indonesian village on Java island has summoned up ghosts to help it persuade
locals to stay indoors during the coronavirus outbreak.
The ghosts are in fact villagers dressed up as "pocong", ghostly figures wrapped
in white shrouds with powdered faces and kohl-rimmed eyes.
"We wanted to be different and create a deterrent effect because 'pocong' are
spooky and scary," said Anjar Pancaningtyas, head of a village youth group that
coordinated with the police on the unconventional initiative.
In Indonesian folklore, "pocong" represent the trapped souls of the dead.
(Compiled by Karishma Singh)
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