Pakistan suffered its deadliest day of the coronavirus pandemic so far on Tuesday, recording 140 deaths from the disease, and taking the total number of fatalities to 3,037.
Cases and deaths continue to rise sharply, even as authorities rush to implement so-called “smart lockdowns” – defined areas of strict restrictions within major cities where the infection is spreading rapidly.
Indonesia reports 1,031 new infections
Indonesia has reported 1,031 new coronavirus infections taking the total to 41,431 and overtaking Singapore with the highest number of COVID-19 cases in Southeast Asia.
Health ministry official Achmad Yurianto said 45 more deaths were reported on Wednesday, taking the total number of fatalities to 2,276. Indonesia has the highest coronavirus death toll in East Asia outside of China.
Japan finds coronavirus in wastewater plants
A Japanese study has confirmed the presence of coronavirus in wastewater.
Researchers from Toyama Prefectural University, Kanazawa University and Kyoto University tested water at four treatment plants in western Japan and found seven of 27 samples positive for the virus, according to a preprint of the study.
“Sewage testing is used as an early warning system to alert people about (possibly unnoticed ongoing community transmission,” Yuki Furuse, a Kyoto University professor who wasn’t directly involved in the trial told Reuters. Studies in Australia, the US and Europe have reported similar findings.
HSBC revives 35,000 job cut plan after pandemic pause
HSBC is resuming plans to cut around 35,000 jobs which it put on ice after the coronavirus outbreak, as Europe’s biggest bank grapples with the impact on its already falling profits.
It will also maintain a freeze on almost all external hiring, Chief Executive Noel Quinn said in a memo sent to HSBC’s 235,000 staff worldwide seen by Reuters.
“We could not pause the job losses indefinitely – it was always a question of ‘not if, but when’,” Quinn said, adding that the measures first announced in February were “even more necessary today”.
Beijing virus outbreak not connected to Norwegian salmon: Oslo
Chinese and Norwegian authorities have concluded that Norwegian salmon was likely not the source of the novel coronavirus that was found at cutting boards in a Beijing food market.
Following a meeting between Chinese and Norwegian officials on Tuesday, both countries have concluded that the source of the outbreak did not originate with fish from the Nordic country, Odd Emil Ingebrigtsen, the Norwegian fisheries and seafood minister said.
“We can clear away uncertainty and the halt in salmon export to China,” he told a video conference including journalists.
Self-cleaning mask can kill viruses with heat from phone charger
Israeli researchers say they have invented a reusable face mask that can kill the coronavirus with heat by drawing power from a mobile phone charger.
The disinfecting process takes about 30 minutes – and users should not wear the mask while it is plugged in, said Professor Yair Ein-Eli, who led the research team at Technion University in Haifa.
The new mask has a USB port that connects to a power source such as a standard cellphone charger that heats an inner layer of carbon fibres to up to 70 degrees Celsius (158 degrees Fahrenheit), high enough to kill viruses.
Covid-19 deaths in Sweden pass 5,000
Deaths in Sweden from COVID-19 passed 5,000, the Public Health Agency said, far more than in neighbouring Nordic countries.
The official death toll has now reached 5,041, up from 4,939 on Tuesday. Sweden has taken a softer approach to fighting the coronavirus, leaving most schools, shops and restaurants open and relying on voluntary measures focused on social distancing and good hygiene.
Deaths in Sweden has been far higher relative to the size of the population than in Denmark, Norway and Finland, where authorities have taken a stricter approach. But they have been lower than in Britain, Italy and Spain, where there have also been lockdowns
Tunisia’s economy may shrink by 6 to 7 percent in 2020
Tunisia’s economy may shrink by up to 7 percent this year due to the effects of coronavirus pandemic, the investment minister has said.
The number of unemployed people in Tunisia will increase by 275,000, according to a government study in partnership with the United Nations Development Program, the minister, Slim Azzabi, said.
The study expects the economy to shrink by 4.4 pct but Azzabi said that figure might rise to as high as 6 or 7 pct.
SOURCE: Al Jazeera and news agencies
