By Unknown Author from NYT Business https://ift.tt/33ZsQao
Stock Markets in Asia Dip on Dire U.S. Warning: Live Updates
By Unknown Author from NYT Business https://ift.tt/33ZsQao
Coronavirus Live Updates: Trump Warns of ‘Painful Two Weeks’ Ahead
By Unknown Author from NYT World https://ift.tt/2JqPBuu
Raiwind completely locked down as Tablighi Jamaat coronavirus cases rise
The Punjab government has completely locked down Raiwind over fears that the coronavirus may spread from there.
Vegetable and food staple shops have been shut down and the police and Rangers have been deployed to ensure no one leaves their homes. The only stores that remain open are pharmacies.
The Raiwind Tablighi Centre has been declared a quarantine centre for foreigners.
Multiple members of the Tablighi Jamaat have tested positive for the coronavirus, with 94 cases being confirmed in Sindh, 32 in Punjab and 16 in Islamabad. Members of the Jamaat are being tested.
Rescue officials are disinfecting the city’s streets and markets with a chlorine-water mixture.
from SAMAA https://ift.tt/2UPRKVU
China lockdown may have blocked 700,000 virus cases: researchers
China’s decision to lock down the city of Wuhan, ground zero for the global COVID-19 pandemic, may have prevented more than 700,000 new cases by delaying the spread of the virus, researchers said Tuesday.
Drastic Chinese control measures in the first 50 days of the epidemic bought other cities across the country valuable time to prepare and install their own restrictions, according to the paper by researchers in China, the United States and the UK, published in the journal Science.
By day 50 of the epidemic — February 19 — there were 30,000 confirmed cases in China, said Oxford fellow Christopher Dye, one of the paper’s authors.
“Our analysis suggests that without the Wuhan travel ban and the national emergency response there would have been more than 700,000 confirmed COVID-19 cases outside of Wuhan by that date,” he was quoted as saying in a press release.
“China’s control measures appear to have worked by successfully breaking the chain of transmission — preventing contact between infectious and susceptible people.”
The researchers used a combination of case reports, public health information and mobile phone location tracking to investigate the spread of the virus.
The phone tracking provided a “fascinating” new stream of data, said another of the report’s authors, Penn State biology professor Ottar Bjornstad.
The time period they studied encompassed China’s biggest holiday, the Lunar New Year.
The researchers “were able to compare patterns of travel into and out of Wuhan during the outbreak with cell phone data from two previous spring festivals,” Bjornstad said.
“The analysis revealed an extraordinary reduction in movement following the travel ban of January 23, 2020. Based on this data, we could also calculate the likely reduction in Wuhan-associated cases in other cities across China.”
The Wuhan shutdown delayed the arrival of the virus in other cities, their model showed, giving them time to prepare by banning public gatherings and closing entertainment venues, among other measures.
Nearly half of humanity has now been told to stay home to curb the spread of the virus, and lockdowns are rapidly becoming normalized.
But when Beijing first shut down Wuhan more than two months ago, the decision was seen as a dramatic escalation in the fight against infection.
With the restrictions in the city slowly being lifted and life inching closer to normal, the question for China — and other countries around the globe — is what will happen once movement resumes.
“We are acutely aware that resident or imported infections could lead to a resurgence of transmission,” said another of the report’s authors, Huaiyu Tian, an associate professor of epidemiology at Beijing Normal University.
from SAMAA https://ift.tt/2UwqEnC
Wallace Roney, Jazz Trumpet Virtuoso, Is Dead at 59
By BY GIOVANNI RUSSONELLO from NYT Arts https://ift.tt/3bFEU37
Quotation of the Day: Cases Spiral Aboard an Aircraft Carrier, and a Commander Pleads for Help
By Unknown Author from NYT Today’s Paper https://ift.tt/344Rbvp
This Broccoli-Dill Pasta Has a Hippie Twist. Your Kids Will Love It.
By BY TEJAL RAO from NYT Magazine https://ift.tt/2wQroLe
Trump Calls New Fuel Economy Rule a Boon. Some Experts See Steep Costs.
By BY CORAL DAVENPORT from NYT Climate https://ift.tt/2R0Dpop
As Furloughs Grow, Kennedy Center Defends Use of $25 Million in Aid
By BY JULIA JACOBS from NYT Arts https://ift.tt/2UVbJlS
Las domadoras de leones de Egipto dominan el negocio
By BY DECLAN WALSH from NYT en Español https://ift.tt/2UOz3St
$30 Million in Illegal Drugs Seized From Cross-Border Tunnel in San Diego, U.S. Says
By BY NEIL VIGDOR from NYT U.S. https://ift.tt/2UyBfhU
‘Never Thought I Would Need It’: Americans Put Pride Aside to Seek Aid
By BY CARA BUCKLEY from NYT U.S. https://ift.tt/2Uygm6p
Human Rights Group Says Two U.S. Strikes Killed Somali Civilians
By BY CHARLIE SAVAGE AND HELENE COOPER from NYT World https://ift.tt/3dFYDSa
Hellmut Stern, 91, Dies; Violinist Returned to Germany After Fleeing
By BY KATHARINE Q. SEELYE from NYT Arts https://ift.tt/2R0fBku
Coronavirus Spreads in Veterans’ Home, Leaving ‘Shuddering Loss for Us All’
By BY ELLEN BARRY from NYT U.S. https://ift.tt/3dLIbQg
Before You Adopt: Planning a Lifelong Commitment to Your Pet’s Health
By BY SASSAFRAS LOWREY from NYT Smarter Living https://ift.tt/2UvKNdC
Coronavirus May Kill 100,000 to 240,000 in U.S. Despite Actions, Officials Say
By BY MICHAEL D. SHEAR AND JAMES GLANZ from NYT U.S. https://ift.tt/2JwnJVP
¿Quién iba a decir que ir al supermercado sería tan estresante?
By BY TARA PARKER-POPE from NYT en Español https://ift.tt/2WVd9Q5
Fox News Breaking News Alert
Fox News Breaking News Alert
Coronavirus deaths in US hit 3,000
03/30/20 8:05 PM
Coronavirus deaths in US hit 3,000
03/30/20 8:05 PM
‘Better Call Saul’ Season 5, Episode 7 Recap: Just Make Money
By BY DAVID SEGAL from NYT Arts https://ift.tt/33ZqcBj
U.S. Appeals Court Blocks Release of Grand Jury Records in 1946 Mass Lynching Case
By BY NEIL VIGDOR from NYT U.S. https://ift.tt/343vo7p
‘Emergency’ Online Library Draws Ire of Some Authors
By BY ALEXANDRA ALTER from NYT Books https://ift.tt/2youuqx
Met Museum Tells Staff It Is Extending Pay Until May 2
By BY ZACHARY SMALL from NYT Arts https://ift.tt/2Uw6hXy
N.C.A.A. Allows Extra Year of Eligibility for Athletes in Curtailed Spring Sports
By BY BILLY WITZ from NYT Sports https://ift.tt/39onneo
Behind Trump’s Reversal on Reopening the Country: 2 Sets of Numbers
By BY PETER BAKER AND MAGGIE HABERMAN from NYT U.S. https://ift.tt/2xwlbUR
A Bitter Herb From the Lower East Side
By BY FLORENCE FABRICANT from NYT Food https://ift.tt/2UsZjmc
Tempting Pastas and Sauces From Sicily
By BY FLORENCE FABRICANT from NYT Food https://ift.tt/39yA9XI
Virus Prompts Workplace Protests Over Health Concerns
By BY NOAM SCHEIBER AND KATE CONGER from NYT Business https://ift.tt/2QWRCCy
Trump to Governors: I’d Like You to Do Us a Favor, Though
By BY MICHELLE GOLDBERG from NYT Opinion https://ift.tt/2QWRhjg
Trump’s Virus Defense Is Often an Attack, and the Target Is Often a Woman
By BY ANNIE KARNI from NYT U.S. https://ift.tt/3dCNjWW
Listen to the Call: Bullock and Trump Discuss Testing
By BY THE NEW YORK TIMES from NYT U.S. https://ift.tt/2JDppgp
Keep It Simple, Albany. This Is No Time for Budget Games.
By BY THE EDITORIAL BOARD from NYT Opinion https://ift.tt/3bE75zo
Joe Diffie, Grammy-Winning Country Music Star, Dies at 61
By BY JON CARAMANICA from NYT Arts https://ift.tt/2WT1pNQ
Trump Suggests Lack of Testing Is No Longer a Problem. Governors Disagree.
By BY JONATHAN MARTIN, MAGGIE HABERMAN AND MIKE BAKER from NYT U.S. https://ift.tt/3dGuKBm
Congress Just Spent $2 Trillion on Coronavirus Relief. It’s Eying More.
By BY EMILY COCHRANE from NYT U.S. https://ift.tt/3dMluM7
Today’s outlook: ECC meets, Sindh petrol pumps close at 5pm
Here are some of the news stories we are expecting to follow today (Monday):
- Adviser to Prime Minister on Finance and Revenue Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh will chair an Economic Coordination Committee meeting in Islamabad. The meeting will approve a Rs1.2 trillion relief package for the public amid the countrywide lockdown.
- Petrol pumps across Sindh will be closed by 5pm. The provincial government had already announced closure of grocery and medical stores by 5pm.
- Prime Minister Imran Khan will announce how the Youth Tiger Force will distribute rations among needy families during lockdown.
- So far, 1,578 known cases of the coronavirus have surfaced across Pakistan. Seventeen people have died of it.
- A six-month-old girl has tested positive for the novel coronavirus in Gujarat.
- ICYMI: Authorities sealed the Imtiaz Super Market branch in Karachi’s Korangi area on Sunday for failing to take precautionary measures against the coronavirus spread. Click here to read the full story.
from SAMAA https://ift.tt/39uLYy9
Sindh’s private companies obliged to pay employees until March 31
All private companies and factories in Sindh have been ordered to pay their employees until March 31, the government announced on Monday.
According to the Payments Act Notification passed by the province, the organisations have been obliged to ensure payments to daily wage workers, contractors and permanent employees.
An emergency cell has also been created where employees can lodge complaints against all those companies failing to comply with the notification.
The development came after the number of coronavirus cases spiked in the country. A lockdown has been imposed across Sindh to prevent the spread of the virus and most offices and workplaces have been shut down. Amid this, people have complained that companies are refusing to pay salaries.
from SAMAA https://ift.tt/3bDlvzI
Mardan policeman who contracted coronavirus has a message for you
The Mardan operations SP, Waqar Azeem, announced in a video message that he had tested positive for the coronavirus.
He has placed his entire team in self-isolation and is also isolating himself.
I didn’t have a choice, I had to go out to do my duty, said the SP. But if you can stay home, then please do, he urged. The doctors, policemen and other officials going out in the field have to do it to keep the people safe, but the people can keep them safe by staying home, he said.
He said to curb the spread of this virus, people must stay home and practice social distancing. Do it for your children and families, he said.
from SAMAA https://ift.tt/3bFby4P
What’s on TV Monday: ‘The Good Doctor’ and ‘The Schouwendam 12’
By BY PETER LIBBEY from NYT Arts https://ift.tt/2xvjS8G
Trump says US won’t pay Harry and Meghan security
President Donald Trump said Sunday that the United States would not pay security costs for Prince Harry and his wife Meghan, appearing to confirm that the royal couple have moved to live in California.
They reportedly flew by private jet from Canada to Los Angeles before the border between the two countries closed because of the deadly coronavirus outbreak.
The couple, who had been living in Canada for several months, rocked the royal family earlier this year with their decision to no longer represent the British monarchy and to pursue a new, independent life.
“I am a great friend and admirer of the Queen & the United Kingdom,” Trump tweeted.
I am a great friend and admirer of the Queen & the United Kingdom. It was reported that Harry and Meghan, who left the Kingdom, would reside permanently in Canada. Now they have left Canada for the U.S. however, the U.S. will not pay for their security protection. They must pay!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 29, 2020
“It was reported that Harry and Meghan, who left the Kingdom, would reside permanently in Canada. Now they have left Canada for the US however, the US will not pay for their security protection. They must pay!”
Meghan grew up in Los Angeles and her mother, Doria Ragland, still lives in the city.
The one-time actress has a network of friends and work contacts in Los Angeles, where she could now restart her career.
Disney announced on Thursday that she will narrate a new film about a family of African elephants.
Harry was reportedly caught in a hoax telephone call recently in which he attacked Trump for his stance on climate change.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex will formally step back from royal duties on March 31.
from SAMAA https://ift.tt/39x0tkR
Coronavirus: 28 Sukkur pilgrims test positive after ignoring social distancing
A total of 28 more pilgrims tested positive for the novel coronavirus at the Sukkur quarantine on Sunday after they failed to practice social distancing.
According to medical superintendent Dr Tasleem Akhter, all these people had previously tested negative. “But they kept meeting their friends who had contracted the virus and did not isolate themselves,” he said.
The new people who were infected have been quarantined for five days. “They will be tested twice after a week and sent home if their results are negative,” Akhter added.
Sindh Transport Minister Awais Shah called this “carelessness of the pilgrims”. “The management of the centre is responsible but these people violated the rules of social distancing,” he said.
All the pilgrims who have recently arrived from Iran are being kept at the quarantine centre in Sukkur’s Labour Colony. Pakistan has reported more than 1,500 cases of the virus so far. Seventeen fatalities have taken place across the country.
from SAMAA https://ift.tt/2vXmwDG
UAE opens drive-through coronavirus testing site
The United Arab Emirates said it has launched a drive-through coronavirus testing facility as part of the Gulf state’s efforts to fight the disease.
The facility, inaugurated by Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, will provide screenings within five minutes, using state-of-the-art equipment and a medical team, the Abu Dhabi government’s media office said.
“A new drive-through testing facility for COVID-19 has launched … to offer safe testing procedures,” the office said Saturday on Twitter.
According to official state news agency WAM, the facility can serve 600 people a day, with priority given to senior citizens, pregnant women and those with chronic illnesses.
The media office said people should book an appointment in advance.
Tests “for the wider community for reassurance only” would cost 370 dirhams ($100), according to government advice on Twitter.
The UAE, which on Sunday had 570 officially declared COVID-19 cases, including three deaths, has imposed restrictions on night movements and taken steps to sanitise outdoor areas and public transport.
The Gulf state has halted passenger flights, closed its borders to foreigners and asked people to go outdoors only if necessary.
UAE Attorney General Hamad Saif al-Shamsi has issued a list of fines ranging from $272 to $13,600 for those violating regulations imposed to contain the virus.
from SAMAA https://ift.tt/2UKMKlf
Quotation of the Day: Crisis Pits Patient Privacy Against Public Need to Know
By Unknown Author from NYT Today’s Paper https://ift.tt/3bBKmUS
Stock Markets in Asia Signal Lingering Unease: Live Updates
By Unknown Author from NYT Business https://ift.tt/2Us6481
Coronavirus Live Updates: 200,000 Americans Could Die, Warns Top Health Officials
By Unknown Author from NYT World https://ift.tt/2vUNGuS
Six-month-old tests positive for coronavirus in Gujarat
A six-month-old girl has tested positive for the novel coronavirus (COVD-19) in Gujarat.
She and her father arrived in Pakistan two weeks ago from Spain.
She is being treated at the Aziz Bhatti Shaheed Hospital.
As of Sunday, Punjab reported 570 known coronavirus cases. Pakistan’s tally as of Sunday evening was 1,578.
from SAMAA https://ift.tt/2xArZ3E
Coronavirus could claim up to 200,000 US lives: top scientist
Senior US scientist Dr. Anthony Fauci issued a cautious prediction Sunday that the novel coronavirus could claim as many as 200,000 lives in the United States, as state and local officials described increasingly desperate shortages in hard-pressed hospitals.
And with stress, uncertainty and exhaustion rising across the country, House speaker Nancy Pelosi squarely blamed President Donald Trump for unnecessary loss of life by initially playing down the pandemic.
“His denial at the beginning was deadly,” she told CNN’s “State of the Union.” She added, “Don’t fiddle while people die, Mr. President.”
Dr. Fauci, who leads research into infectious diseases at the National Institutes of Health, played down worst-case predictions of one million or more deaths, instead offering a rough estimate of 100,000 to 200,000 deaths and “millions of cases.”
But Fauci, a leading member of Trump’s coronavirus task force and for many Americans a comforting voice of authority, quickly added, “I don’t want to be held to that … It’s such a moving target that you can so easily be wrong and mislead people.”
By way of comparison, a US flu epidemic in 2018-19 killed 34,000 people.
COVID-19 has hit the US with explosive force in recent weeks, following a path seen earlier in parts of Asia and Europe.
It took a month for the US to move from its first confirmed death, on February 29, to its 1,000th. But in two days this week that number doubled, to nearly 2,200 on Sunday. The case total of 124,763 — as tallied by Johns Hopkins University — is the world’s highest.
“This is the way pandemics work, and that’s why we all are deeply concerned and why we have been raising the alert,” Dr. Deborah Birx, the response coordinator for the White House task force, said Sunday on NBC.
“No state, no metro area will be spared.”
In the US, the epicenter has been New York City, with 672 deaths so far. Hospital staff have issued desperate pleas for more protective equipment.
Mayor Bill de Blasio said Sunday that his city’s hospitals have enough protective equipment for only another week. He said he had made a direct request to Trump and the US military “to find us immediately more military medical personnel and get them here by next Sunday.”
De Blasio credited federal officials with being “very responsive,” but added, “we’re talking about a sharp escalation ahead.”
New York governor Andrew Cuomo said the statewide death toll had risen to 965 from 728 a day earlier — its largest one-day jump yet — and he extended by two weeks an order for nonessential state employees to continue working from home.
Early Saturday, Trump had floated the idea of a “quarantine” for New York and two neighboring states, but when state officials and health experts questioned the idea — which Cuomo derided as “preposterous” and “a declaration of war on the states” — the president dropped it.
Instead, the federal Centers for Disease Control issued an advisory urging people in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut to avoid non-essential domestic travel.
In Washington state, where the disease first struck with force, Governor Jay Inslee described “a desperate need for all kinds of equipment.” He said the nation needed to be put on an essentially wartime footing.
Inslee pushed back against the notion, advocated earlier by Trump, that the country could begin returning to work by Easter, which is April 12.
“There are some hard realities we have to understand,” he said on CNN. “Unless we continue a very vigorous social distancing program in my state, this will continue to spread like wildfire.”
Governor Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan also described a deteriorating picture, especially in her state’s largest city, Detroit.
“We had a thousand new cases yesterday,” she said. “We know that number will be even higher today … The dire situation in Detroit is getting worse by the minute.”
Whitmer bemoaned a system that has states competing against one another for desperately needed supplies.
“We’re bidding against one another, and in some cases the federal government is taking priority,” she said.
“It’s really, I think, creating a lot more problems for all of us.”
Pelosi said earlier that Trump’s “continued delay in getting equipment to where it’s needed is deadly.”
Dr. Birx, the task force coordinator, declined to say what her recommendation would be to the president in the next few days about an eventual easing of work and travel restrictions, but she offered this advice:
“Every metro area should assume that they could have an outbreak equivalent to New York, and do everything right now to prevent it.”
from SAMAA https://ift.tt/3465xfj
#StayAtHomeChallenge: Heer’s self-isolation note
Children from across Pakistan have been sending us their notes, poems, art and photos as they pass the time in self-isolation. We have been publishing them here and on our Facebook @HealthSamaa page. This submission is by Heer Shahida:
My Self-Isolation
On a Sunday morning last year I saw that there were no newspapers on the table at home. I thought my father was reading newspapers in his bedroom. But he was not there. I found him sitting in our study room and watching news websites. It was unusual as I had been seeing my father reading newspapers every morning at dining room since my childhood. I do remember that my father had told me he would read newspapers ‘online’.
I did not take it so serious at that time and simply thought that my father had stopped buying newspapers to save his money. But now, in these days of Coronavirus, I am recalling it seriously. I do observe rapidly changing things.
Sudden closure of our school in February had worried me and my friends very much. The matter for more concern was that we were not meeting now. Our school is closed and we were unable to meet each other for a long time. But recently we did find a way to interact with each other. It became possible through internet. We four close friends did see and talk at the same time through a video call. It was a pleasant experience for us.
After few days I saw my father doing office work from home. I asked my father about it. He replied that due to current situation our office has allowed its workers to work from home. I will email my assignments to my office. It was unusual and surprising for me.
Later on a day when I opened the door there was a man carrying a big box. He asked about my father. I did call my father who talked to the person for a while and received the box. When I opened the box I found some groceries in it. It was first time that an outsider had brought grocery at home. My father told me that it is time for online shopping due to Coronavirus threat.
And now when I asked about fate of my education my father told me that it will also be ‘online’ in case current wave of Coronavirus is continued for a long. I have heard and read so many times about ‘online’ things but now I am seeing it practically here. It seems that everything is going to be online in our country. The Coronavirus situation is changing our lifestyle.
Heer Shahida
8th grade
St.Paul’s English High School, Karachi
from SAMAA https://ift.tt/3bE9eeK
Sindh to pay daily wage labourers through mobile wallet app
The Sindh government is going to be paying daily wage labourers who are out of work due to the coronavirus lockdown through a mobile wallet application.
The money will be given against their CNIC number and people will be able to get their money by showing their ID card and phone at mobile shops.
Requests for registration are being submitted and the government has asked NADRA, the FIA, FBR and State Bank for help verifying them.
People who have travelled abroad, except for Hajj or pilgrimages, will not be entitled to this money. Those with over Rs10,000 in their bank accounts won’t be eligible for this scheme either.
Ever since the lockdown began in Sindh, daily wage workers have been out of jobs. The government promised to provide them rations.
Sindh has reported 502 known cases of the coronavirus as of Sunday night, with three deaths.
from SAMAA https://ift.tt/2WTWV9K
‘Westworld’ Season 3, Episode 3 Recap: Predators and Prey
By BY SCOTT TOBIAS from NYT Arts https://ift.tt/3bD6Moq
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
16 States Sue to Restore N.I.H. Funding
By Soumya Karlamangla and Benjamin Mueller from NYT U.S. https://ift.tt/DIC5l2A
-
By Ana Ionova and Tanira Lebedeff from NYT World https://ift.tt/2Q01zvW
-
By Neil Vigdor from NYT U.S. https://ift.tt/M2PcsA6
