South Korea on Thursday reported no new domestic coronavirus cases for the first time since February, the Korea Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) said.KCDC reported four new infections, all imported cases, taking the national tally to 10,765. The death toll rose by one to 247, while 9,059 have been discharged.Of the total, 1,065 were imported cases, where more than 90 per cent were Koreans, according to a KCDC statement.The health authorities also concluded no local transmission…
Coronavirus: more than 1 in 5 Singapore firms looking to slash jobs
More than one in five firms in Singapore are actively considering cutting their workforce as a result of the coronavirus, a survey has found.The survey, by insurance broker Aon, found 21 per cent of firms in the city were looking at making redundancies, while 4 per cent had already done so.The survey, which took in 1,889 organisations around the world, including 196 in Singapore, also found that slightly more than 10 per cent of companies had asked employees to take pay cuts on a voluntary…
Could Kim Jong-un’s uncle, who spent decades abroad, become the next North Korean leader?
For about as long as North Korea has existed, Kim Pyong-il has been considered a possible successor to the leader. And now, with his nephew Kim Jong-un’s health status unclear, his name is being bandied about again.Kim Pyong-il, 65, is the last known surviving son of North Korea’s founder, Kim Il-sung. After losing out in the 1970s to his half-brother, Kim Jong-il – who ended up running the country from 1994 to 2011 – Kim Pyong-il spent about four decades overseas in diplomatic posts including…
Coronavirus: Singapore’s Covid-19 cases to rise as not all migrant workers are being tested
Singapore has reported a further 528 Covid-19 infections to bring its total to 14,951, with authorities saying the true number may be even higher as not all sick migrant workers are being tested.The country’s director of medical services, Kenneth Mak, on Tuesday said the figures would “catch up” as further testing of the workers took place. However, he said this was not because the government was “fudging or dodging” cases, but because it was prioritising isolating infected workers over testing…
Indonesia’s true coronavirus death toll could be over 2,000 higher, data shows
More than 2,200 Indonesians have died with acute symptoms of Covid-19 but were not recorded as victims of the disease, a Reuters review of data from 16 of the country’s 34 provinces showed.Three medical experts said the figures indicated the national death toll was likely to be much higher than the official figure of 765.Indonesia has one of the lowest testing rates in the world and some epidemiologists say that has made it harder to get an accurate picture of the extent of infections in the…
No destination in sight for Thailand’s tourism sector amid coronavirus uncertainties
For Chanapan Kaewklachaiyawut, a Bangkok-based tour operator who caters to Chinese visitors, the news that Thailand on Monday extended its state of emergency until May 31 came as no surprise. After almost 30 years in the industry, the Covid-19 pandemic has left him unable to speculate about the future – either of his own business, or the country’s tourism sector.“I cannot say when my business can return. We cannot look at just China, and China doesn’t only look at Thailand. I cannot even guess…
Coronavirus: Australians download contact tracing app as states ease restrictions
Australia launched mobile-phone software to help trace people infected with the coronavirus as parts of the country start to loosen restrictions on movement.The COVIDSafe app records digital handshakes between smartphones via Bluetooth, and if someone catches the virus, health authorities will be able to track who has been within 1.5 metres of the person for 15 minutes or more. More than 1.1 million people have signed up since its launch on Sunday, the government said.Prime Minister Scott…
The last giant joss stick makers of Singapore are burning to the end
Bent over a wooden table, Albert Tay, 61, picks up a plastic knife – the kind that comes with a McDonald’s takeaway order – and gets to work.His hands run down a winding log of reddish-brown clay that is shaped like a dragon without features. Using the knife, he deftly carves out small, protruding scales, one after another, until they eventually form a dense pattern across the dragon’s body, which dresses up a 2-metre-long joss stick.With more twists and flicks of the wrist, he works on the…
Lock down, start up: the digital firms cashing in on coronavirus quarantines in the Philippines
In just a matter of days, Jimwel Himor has gone from waiting tables for a catering company in Metro Manila to waiting in line at the supermarket as he does other people’s shopping. “It’s a good gig and helps me get the money I need,” said the sole breadwinner for his family. “At least while I don’t have regular work.” Himor is one of the thousands of Filipinos who recently signed up as a personal assistant on MyKuya, an on-demand services app based in Manila, after being furloughed by his…
Surreal life in Singapore, from Covid-19 to ‘circuit breaker’ and migrant workers’ plight
Every lockdown looks roughly the same from afar – the images of empty streets, grocery queues, ventilated patients and hazmat-suited health care workers have become familiar to all. But the actual experience of confinement is probably very different depending on which city and country we are in. Here in Singapore, the increasingly severe lockdown feels strange in many ways, as if we are in a dream: surreal. First is the term “circuit breaker” used for the lockdown introduced by the Singapore…