Sunday 17 May 2020

24 Ramadan - 1441

2 Riyals

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Volume 25 | Number 8260

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Qatar sends medical assistance to SomaliaTHE PENINSULA — DOHA

The State of Qatar represented by Qatar Fund for Development (QFFD) has sent urgent medical aids to Somalia in cooperation with the Amiri Air Force fleet.

Qatar Fund for Devel-opment sent a shipment of 10 tonnes of urgent medical aid to Somalia yesterday to support the efforts of brothers there to combat and contain the out-break of the coronavirus pan-demic (COVID-19).

This shipment, which the Amiri Air Force fleet carried, includes medical equipment and supplies such as masks and personal protective equipment for the medical staff, which will benefit the Somali people not only in Mogadishu but also in other regions that have urgent needs.

Khalifa bin Jassim Al Kuwari, Director General of Qatar Fund for Development said: “The presence of the State of Qatar alongside its brothers and friends, espe-cially in the light of this crisis, is important to help countries

to combat the spread of this pandemic, which is a threat to the whole world.”

QFFD confirms that it will always stand with the Somali people by providing humani-tarian aid and supporting

development projects, as QFFD provided urgent humanitarian assistance during the floods that struck the country last year, and financial and medical assistance to the victims of the recent Mogadishu bombings as the

injured were transferred to Doha for treatment.

QFFD is also carrying out various development projects in Somalia, the most important of which is the Mogadishu Johar Road, amounting to $165m.

Officials of Amiri Air Force and QFFD with the shipment to Somalia.

Qatar Airways’ initiative evokes huge responseSACHIN KUMAR THE PENINSULA

Qatar Airways’ initiative to give free tickets to healthcare professionals has evoked huge response. Within just four days after launching the initiative, the airline has given almost 50,000 complimentary return tickets to healthcare profes-sional around the world.

“We’re halfway through our #ThankYouHeroes initiative, with almost 50,000 compli-mentary return tickets given away to healthcare heroes around the world. There are still three more days left to apply for the remaining 50,000,” said the airline on its official twitter account on Friday.

Under its ThankYouHeroes initiative, Qatar Airways is giving away 100,000 free tickets to frontline healthcare professionals to say thank you for their heroic work looking after people during the current

COVID-19 pandemic. The registration process for

the initiative, which began on May 12, will close at 11.59pm on May 18. Healthcare profes-sionals can register for this exclusive offer at qatarairways.com/ThankYouHeroes by sub-mitting a form to receive a unique promotion code, offered on a first come, first served basis.

Under the initiative, healthcare professionals will also be offered additionally a voucher with 35 percent dis-count to redeem at Qatar Duty Free retail outlets at the air-line’s state-of-the-art hub, Hamad International Airport in Doha, valid for use up to December 31, 2020.

“It’s great to see such support for our #ThankY-ouHeroes initiative to giveaway 100k tickets to healthcare heroes. We’ve tried our best to make the process fair,” said Qatar Airways in a tweet yes-terday. �P2

MoPH: 242 more recover as one death reported

THE PENINSULA — DOHA

The Ministry of Public Health has recorded 1,547 new cases of COVID-19 and 242 people recovered, bringing the total number of recovered in Qatar to 3,788, yesterday. In addition the Ministry has also recorded a new death from COVID-19.

The total number of positive COVID-19 cases recorded in Qatar till now stands at 30,972 and there are 27,169 active cases under treatment. So far, 15 people died from COVID-19 in Qatar.

Ministry conducted 4,531 tests in last 24 hours taking the total tests done so far to 152,704 tests.

And the Ministry of Health

said that 15 people were admitted in intensive care due to health complications resulting from virus, bringing the total number of people receiving medical care in intensive care to 158 by yesterday.

The Ministry said in a statement that the new cases infected with the virus are expatriate workers who were infected as a result of contact with individuals who were pre-viously infected, in addition to new cases of infection among groups of workers in different regions.

The incidence of cases increased among citizens and residents, as a result of their contact with infected family

members who had been infected in turn at the work-place or through visits and family gatherings.

In this context, the Ministry affirmed that the high number of cases among citizens and res-idents is due to the lack of com-pliance by some with precau-tionary measures, the most important of which is social distancing.

The Ministry reported that a 74-year-old resident, who was receiving necessary medical care in intensive care, died. The Ministry has extended its “sincere condolences and great sympathy” to the family of the deceased.

The Ministry has said that Qatar has now entered the

peak phase of the virus out-break, which is seeing a rise in the number of infections recorded daily.

It is therefore more important than ever to strictly follow recommended pre-vention and social distancing measures.

The Ministry also stressed

the importance for the elderly or those suffering from chronic diseases and their family members to follow strict measures to reduce the chances of infection with the virus and to refrain from social visits during the rest of Ramadan as well as on the occasion of Eid Al Fitr. �P3

COVID-19 QATAR UPDATES ON MAY 16, 2020

NEW RECOVERIES

ACTIVE CASES

TOTAL RECOVERIES

TOTAL DEATHS

242 27,169

3,78815

NEW CASES ANNOUNCED

1,547

Qatar ramps up care for elderly, most vulnerableQNA — DOHA

Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) has urged all citizens and residents in Qatar to take every measure to keep the elderly population away and safe from the coronavirus (COVID-19), especially as we approach Eid Al Fitr.

Global evidence has shown that while COVID-19 can affect people of all ages and health status, the elderly are much more likely to experience severe symptoms and are therefore more at risk from becoming seri-ously ill if they contract the illness. In response to this evi-dence, HMC, in collaboration with the Ministry of Public Health and Primary Health Care Corporation (PHCC), have estab-lished a comprehensive plan to help protect this vulnerable group of society.

The plan includes compre-hensive public education and awareness campaign to inform elderly citizens and their fam-ilies about adhering to important guidelines for their safety.

Dr. Hanadi Al Hamad, National Lead for Healthy Ageing in Qatar and Medical Director of Rumailah Hospital and Qatar Rehabilitation Institute, explained with increasing age, peoples’ natural immune system becomes less able to cope with the symptoms

caused by the virus. “The COVID-19 symptoms

can include high fever, persistent dry cough, aches and pains and extreme fatigue, and these can be challenging for anyone, but often more so as we get older and our resilience to deal with the symptoms of an infection weakens. The problems are exacerbated when people have additional chronic health con-dition, such as diabetes, heart and kidney disease or similar; many of which become more prevalent with increasing age,” said Dr. Al Hamad.

The pandemic has necessi-tated a change in the way many healthcare services are delivered to all people, and especially older citizens. This includes lim-iting face-to-face exposure to reduce the risk of infection spread. The establishment of telemedicine facilities for a variety of specialities has proven very successful. Over the past, few months over 1,000 virtual consultations have been delivered to people over 60, from medical consultation to providing physiotherapy advice.

Recognising the importance for people with chronic condi-tions to continue taking their medication, the government has supported the programme for medication deliveries to people at home. Over 14,500 medication orders have been dispensed by

HMC and PHCC pharmacy teams to ensure patients have the med-icines they need.

The recently established tel-ephone outreach service for the elderly has provided another important channel to connect with older patients more at risk. Staffed by members from the Geriatric and Long-term Care Department, the team proac-tively calls those aged 60 years and over to offer advice and support on how to stay safe during this period.

“We recognise that lone-liness from social isolation can sometimes be as difficult to bear

as any other illness, especially for vulnerable older people we have therefore set up a call center staffed with geriatricians and nurses. To date around 20,000 calls have been made by HMC and PHCC staff, ranging from dispensing medical advice, arranging a special home visit to medication prescription. And sometimes our teams merely provide psychosocial support just a call to check up on an individual to see how they are feeling can provide a powerful boost to their overall well-being,” added Dr. Al Hamad.

While virtual consultation

has become increasingly important, there are times when a physical consultation is essential and Home Health Care service teams from HMC and PHCC continue to make house calls in urgent cases. Over 12,000 visits have been con-ducted over the past few months to provide necessary services such as administering insulin injections, dressing wounds or checking vital signs.

Another outcome from the pandemic has been a reduction in requests for older people to see a specialist for an ailment. A number of older people, or their

families, are fearful of going outside at this time, stopping them from seeing a doctor then they need to see one; and this can lead to some minor ailments deteriorating over time and potentially becoming acute health problems needing emer-gency care.

A specialised Elderly Day Care Unit has recently been established in Rumailah Hos-pital, designed to provide non-life-threatening or emergency care in a more age-friendly environment where the teams can abide by safety regulation concerning distancing.

“In order to reduce the danger of having a relatively minor condition or issue dete-riorate and become more serious, the Elderly Day Care Unit delivers important yet routine medical interventions in order to manage them before they become acute. �P2

Ramadan Timing

Today's Iftar:6:15pm

Tomorrow's Imsak:03:12am

Over the past few months over 1,000 virtual consultations have been delivered to people over 60.

Over 14,500 medication orders have been dispensed by HMC and PHCC pharmacy teams.

The recently established telephone outreach service for the elderly has provided another important channel to connect with older patients more at risk.

To date around 20,000 calls have been made by HMC and PHCC staff, ranging from dispensing medical advice and arranging a special home visit to medication prescription.

EXCLUSIVE

Challenging

moments

strengthen

Qatari nation

José A. Benzaquen Perea, Ambassador of Peru to Qatar

�P8

02 SUNDAY 17 MAY 2020HOME

QBG webinar explores role of medicinal plants in boosting immunityTHE PENINSULA — DOHA

Qur’anic Botanic Garden (QBG) has hosted a webinar titled ‘Medicinal Plants and their importance to the human immune system’, shedding light on the numerous ways medicinal plants can help boost the immune system.

The discussion was mod-erated by Ahmed ElGharib, QBG Assistant Researcher, and fea-tured experts in the field, who discussed the potential uses of medicinal plants in the fight against diseases, exploring case studies on plants, foods, and beverages that can be used to strengthen the response of the immune system.

The webinar also included

presentations on fungal plants in Qatar, their medical prop-erties, and the State’s role in protecting them, as well as a lecture on medicinal plants and related laboratory experiments analysing their effect on immune diseases and cancer.

The Holy Qur’an and Hadith mention many such plants with medicinal applications, among them nigella sativa (black seed), ginger, fig, grape, garlic, lentil, o l i v e , o n i o n , a n d pomegranate.

Traditional medicine and medicinal plants are increas-ingly being brought into the spotlight around the world. In fact, in 2004, the World Health Organization (WHO) released standardized guidelines for

good agricultural practices for growing medicinal plants, to ensure that production of herbal medicines is of good quality, safe, sustainable, and poses no threat to either people or the environment, signaling the pro-jected increase in importance of this topic.

Dr Ala-Eddin Al Moustafa, Professor of Cell Biology, College of Medicine, Qatar Uni-versity, and one of the speakers in the webinar, said,

“The webinar was an excellent opportunity to share information about medicinal plants and educate the public about the central role that these plants play in laboratory research, the activation of the immune system and helping

reduce the growth and spread of certain types of cancers. I would like to thank QBG for inviting me to this webinar and for the opportunity to partic-ipate in these informative discussions.”

Commenting on the webinar, Fatima Al Khulaifi, Director, QBG, said, “Botanical gardens around the world rec-ognize the importance of medicinal plants and their role in the prevention of disease and strengthening the body. Active substances extracted from medicinal plants are considered vital components of the modern medical industry. Hence, botanical gardens play a signif-icant role by preserving these plants and contributing to

research in this field through collaboration with scientific institutions. The Arab world, and the Gulf region in par-ticular, has a rich history in the use of traditional medicine, such as the use of senna and myrrh, in parallel with modern medicine. QBG is delighted to have engaged the public on this important topic and we look forward to continuing to host similar events in the future.”

With an emphasis on plants mentioned in the Holy Qur’an and Hadith, as well as those located in Qatar, QBG is com-mitted to documenting tradi-tional knowledge in light of modern science, while also pro-moting awareness and preser-vation of the environment.

Ashghal opens new intersection, service road on Huwar StreetTHE PENINSULA — DOHA

The Public Works Authority (Ashghal) has announced the partial opening of a new inter-section and service road on Huwar Street, as part of Khalifa Avenue project.

The new intersection will provide new entrances on Huwar Street with Al Furousiya Street and Al Luqta Street along with new connection to Al Luqta Area and Qatar Foundation, in coordination with the General Directorate of Traffic.

Engineer Abdullah Qasim, from the Highway Project Department, confirmed that the new signalised intersection will be opened partially alongside the service road on Huwar Street to provide entrances and exits to Al Luqta area from one side and Qatar Foundation from the other side

and they will link Al Furousiya Street and Al Luqta Street all the way to Al Gharrafa area which will improve the traffic.

Eng. Abdullah Qassim stated as well that the Public Works Authority ‘Ashghal’ has accomplished about 95% of the works on Khalifa Avenue project and that the project is scheduled to be completed within the year.

He pointed out as well that most parts of the project have been opened to traffic, which contributed immensely to improving the traffic in the area, since the project connects Al Rayyan road with Dukhan road, as well as Al Gharrafa Street, Huwar Street and Al Furousiya Street, while serving Al Rayyan, Bani Hajer, Al Gharrafa, Al Luqta and Ghar-rafat Al Rayyan areas.

Eng. Qassim explained that

Ashghal is currently working to complete Khalifa Avenue project, which is one of the main new arteries that will serve the east and west of the country and link them to central Doha, as well as the Education City Stadium, one of the 2022 World Cup stadiums.

Road users coming from Al Furousiya Street in the direction of Doha or Dukhan will be able to use the exit leading to the Tilted Inter-section, and road users will also be able to make a U-turn or turn left at the new inter-section to reach Qatar Foun-dation Gate No. 5.

As for road users coming from the Titled Intersection, they will be able to use the exit to go to Al Furousiya Street, make a U-Turn or turn right towards Qatar Foundation Gate

No. 5. Moreover, with the opening of the intersection and service road, the entry and exit from Qatar Foundation’s Gate No. 5 and Al Diyaa Street will also be available.

Khalifa Avenue project runs from Al Wajba Palaca Inter-change (west) to the Tilted

Interchange (east) and it is known as Khalifa Avenue, and also along Al Gharrafa Road from Al Rayyan Street (south) to Thani Bin Jassim Street (north), and this part of the project connects with the Titled Intersection.

The project works include

the construction of approxi-mately 11.7km of dual car-riageway with four lanes in each direction, over a length of about 7.5 km, in addition to the construction of 5 new inter-changes, including the Titled interchange and Gharrafat Al Rayyan Interchange.

A view of Ashghal's Khalifa Avenue project.

Georgetown virtual event honours graduating seniorsTHE PENINSULA — DOHA

Georgetown University in Qatar (GU-Q) honoured 55 seniors who participated in the “Tropaia & Recognition of Grad-uates” virtual event on Thursday.

The ceremony also recog-nised student standouts from the Class of 2020, who were honoured for academic excel-lence, extracurricular achieve-ments, and induction into pres-tigious honour societies.

The online awards cer-emony at the QF partner insti-tution marked the successful end of four years of study, and honored the faculty and staff members who have made a lasting impact on the students.

Graduating senior student

Ghanim Mohamed Alyafei offi-cially opened the ceremony with a recitation from the Quran, a long-held tradition of GU-Q’s Tropaia Awards, named after the ancient Greek word for monuments raised in honor of victory.

And Sarah Muteb Al-Mutoteh, the Senior Class Speaker, addressed her peers by reminding them of the importance of higher education, especially in times of crisis. “The first lesson Georgetown taught us was to expect the unexpected. Georgetown has prepared us for life.”

Dr. Ahmad Dallal, dean of GU-Q, also reflected on the theme of heroism in his welcome address to the stu-dents, proud family members, faculty and staff watching from

home, saying: “This ceremony honors the courageous aca-demic struggles and honorable success of our graduating stu-dents. This year...turned out to be a noble struggle, a battle we waged together in our hearts, and minds, using-in addition to our computers, our internet access and learning software-the most heroic of weapons: our empathy, and our common humanity.”

Dr. Jeremy Koons, Associate Professor of Philosophy, announced the Latin Honors for the graduating class.

One of the top honours of the ceremony, the Dean’s Medal, which is given to the graduating senior who earns the highest scholastic average at GU-Q, went to multi-award winner Noor Rajab Al Esmail.

“This year’s recipient is truly outstanding. She personifies intelligence, perseverance, ded-ication, a hard work ethic, and above all, humility and kindness,” said Dean Dallal.

Dr. Victoria Googasian, Assistant Professor of English, announced the recipients of certificates in a secondary aca-demic concentration and rec-ognised the students who have been admitted into the aca-demic honour societies Omicron Delta Epsilon, Pi Sigma Alpha, and Phi Alpha Theta. Dr. Koons announced the inductees into the Jesuit Honor Society, Alpha Sigma Nu, for excellence in scholarship and service to others, and Phi Beta Kappa, the oldest and most prestigious honour society in America.

Municipality records violations at homesteads

THE PENINSULA — DOHA

Al Sheehaniya Municipality has conducted inspection campaign on homesteads (locally called ‘Beut Al Bar’) at Rawdat Rashid to ensure that the facility is being used for private housing not for other purposes.

Under the campaign, the m u n i c i p a l i n s p e c t o r s recorded 14 violations for turning homesteads from private housing into stores.

The action was taken fol-lowing the provisions of the law No. 10 of 1987 regulating the public and private properties.

The legal action was taken against the beneficiaries of homesteads with undesig-nated activities, said the Min-istry of Municipality and Environment in a statement.

The Ministry said that it had noted that the holders of the permits of homesteads were found using it for

undesignated purposes like running labor camps and renting out for other activities.

The purpose for granting permits for homesteads is limited to the private housing not for any other purposes so the permit holders should adhere to it.

The Minister said that permit for operating home-stead will be cancelled in case of using for undesignated purposes.

Awqaf Ministry

to hold Ramadan

lectures online

THE PENINSULA — DOHA

The Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs has announced to hold sixth Ramadan program ‘Aminhum min al Khawf’ (secure them from fear) remotely on social sties of the Ministry and electronic platform of the program.

A group of Islamic scholars from Qatar and abroad will discuss Islamic topics.

The topics of the dis-cussion include issuance of fatwas during the epidemic, Muslims and coexistence, Jeru-salem and Palestine, Islam in Sub-Saharan Africa. Lectures will be also delivered on dif-ferent religious topics.

Qatar Airways’

initiative evokes

huge responseFROM PAGE 1

This promotional offer is strictly available to medical frontline professionals only. Eligible healthcare profes-sions include doctor, medical practitioner, nurse, para-medic, lab technician, clinical researcher, pharmacist.

Professions associated with ‘Medical practitioner’ include radiologist, anes-thetist, physician, nurse assistant, infection control and quality assurance per-sonnel, physical and occupa-tional therapist and assistant, diagnostic and therapeutic technician and technologist, community health worker, EMTs, sanitarian, respiratory therapist.

Healthcare professionals from every country in the world are eligible for tickets. To ensure the application process is fair and trans-parent, each country will receive a daily allocation of tickets, depending on its pop-ulation size, staggered over a seven day period from 12 to 18 May.

Healthcare professionals that receive the promotion code can book up to two com-plimentary Economy Class return tickets on Qatar Airways operated flights — one for themselves and one for a companion — to any-where on the airline’s global network.

The tickets will be fully flexible, with an unlimited number of destination or date changes allowed without any fees.

Qatar ramps up care for elderly, most vulnerable

FROM PAGE 1

The added benefit of this service is to reduce the risk or need of an elderly person having to visit the Emergency Department if they do not need to. To date nearly 100 patients have used this facility,” said Dr. Al Hamad.

Until better treatment options are found for COVID-19 and the infection risks decrease, the need remains for observing physical distancing to protect the more vulnerable groups in society. As has been seen in countries around the world, if these safety measures are disregarded or eased

too soon, the rise in infections are all too evident.“We fully understand that the situation with

the lockdown measures are a real burden on families, especially during Ramadan. And we appreciate that people want to get together with family and friends especially during the upcoming Eid. But for now we need the support from the whole community to stay home to stay safe.

"This is the best way in which we can show the love we have for the elders in our family,” added Dr. Hanadi.

FAJR SUNRISE 03.23 am 04.48 am

W A L R U WA I S : 25o↗ 31o W A L K H O R : 24o↗ 35o W D U K H A N : 20o↗ 32o W WA K R A H : 22o↗ 35o W M E S A I E E D 22o↗ 35o W A B U S A M R A 24o↗ 34o

PRAYER TIMINGS WEATHER TODAY

HIGH TIDE 00:29–16:05 LOW TIDE 09:00 – 18:50

Misty at some places at first becomes relatively hot daytime with some clouds, mild by night.

Minimum Maximum26oC 36oC

ZUHRMAGHRIB

11.30 am06.15 pm

ASR ISHA

02.57 pm07.45 pm

03SUNDAY 17 MAY 2020 HOME

QRCS intensifies Ramadan assistance campaignTHE PENINSULA — DOHA

Qatar Red Crescent Society (QRCS) is going on with its Ramadan Campaign 1441 A.H., under the slogan of “It is Better and Greater in Reward”, which has been widely received by the public, the media, news-papers, social media, and websites.

This year, the Ramadan Iftar project involves the dis-tribution of food baskets and fresh meals, instead of the tra-ditional Ramadan Iftar tents. All health precautions are taken to prevent gatherings, as part of QRCS’s large-scale work to control coronavirus (COVID-19), particularly at quarantine facilities and highly populated districts.

The distributions of Iftar meals covers 15 main locations, including Fereej Bin Mahmoud, Najma, Abu Hamour, Ain Khaled, Fereej Al Manaseer, Al Khor, Al Wakra, Industrial Area, Mekaines quarantine facility, Al Dhakhira, and Al Sailiya.

Around 800 female volun-teers and 400 male volunteers are engaged in the distribution of readymade Iftar meals, driven by a spirit of social responsibility among the youth in the face of Coronavirus crisis.

So far, over 55,000 Iftar meals were given to benefici-aries across the country. The meals are sealed well and dis-tributed in a safe manner. Masks and gloves are used throughout the phases of implementation, from the preparation of food to handover.

These activities are gener-ously supported by many benevolent donors in Qatar, some of whom donate the cost of implementation in whole

districts. For example, one donor paid for 36,000 Iftar meals to be distributed to the inhabitants of the Industrial Area. Hundreds of fresh meals are also donated by restaurants and catering enterprises for the Ramadan Iftar project.

QRCS welcomes in-kind donations through the mobile number 55884707. The donated readymade meals would be distributed to the beneficiaries in a manner that ensures both quality and safety.

QRCS’s Humanitarian Services Fund meets the needs of the vulnerable families neg-atively affected by the Coro-navirus lockdown. A total of 27,500 food baskets are made available to the eligible fam-ilies through the branches of LuLu Hypermarket.

Examples of other

Ramadan food assistance projects conducted by QRCS include Ramadan Meera, Clothe and Feed Them, and Double Reward. These projects are intended to meet the increasing demand for food items, especially amid the per-s i s t e n t c o r o n a v i r u s pandemic.

To apply for food assistance, the needy families can call the hotline 16002, Sunday through Thursday, 8:00-11:00 a.m.

As per the work progress reports, QRCS has achieved 80%, or QR9m, of its overall fundraising target of QR12m. Individual and institutional donors are urged to give to charity, in order to enable QRCS to implement more social welfare projects, such as Eid Clothing, an important

source of help for the vul-nerable families.

A Secret Charity scheme is launched by QRCS to allow donation to charitable activities by deductions from mobile bill on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis. You can donate QR 1 per day to the Dig a Well project (send “1” to 92496) QR 5 per day to the Treat a Patient project (send “5” to 92496), QR 25 per week to the Provide Food project (send “25” to 92496), QR 50 per month to the Relieve a Person in Distress (send “50” to 92496), or QR 100 per month to the Support Livelihood project (send “100” to 92496).

On QRCS’s mobile app, you can visit the page https://app.qrcs.org.qa/sc/, select a lan-guage, select a project to donate to, select the deduction system, and them press Confirm.

Need to increase mental healthcare budgets: WHO expert at QF discussionTHE PENINSULA — DOHA

A World Health Organization expert on mental health says the world may not be aware of the full implications of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health, and budgets to tackle its impact on people’s wellbeing need to be increased.

Dr. Dévora Kestel, the organization’s Director of Mental Health and Substance Abuse, was among the speakers in the latest online edition of Qatar Foundation’s Education City Speaker Series, held in collaboration with the World Innovation Summit for Health (WISH), which focused on the challenges surrounding people’s mental wellbeing amid the ongoing lockdown and how they must be addressed.

She said: “Numbers have shown that, in an emergency context, one in five people are likely to suffer from a mental health condition.

“If we understand that a crisis such as this has the potential to impact so heavily on people across a large part

of the world, we can expect that the number of people with mental health conditions will grow, so it is essential to be prepared to respond to these conditions and provide answers to this population about how they can safeguard their mental health.”

Despite the urgent need to provide mental health services amid the current pandemic, Dr. Kestel explained that budgets create challenges and constraints.

“We are in a situation where only two per cent of the healthcare system budget goes toward mental health on a global level, when the preva-lence of mental health issues among populations is much higher than this percentage,” she said.

“There is an urgent need to increase this budget on the global level in order to make sure that every country has the services to provide the necessary response and attention to people whose mental wellbeing is affected by this crisis.

“We need to have a system that provides community-based

mental healthcare at every level of the health system, such as primary care and specialized care. Within that network of services, there may be a need to conduct mental health screening, but first we need to make sure that the services are there, as they will identify what kind of care is needed for each person.”

Dr. Kestel emphasised the importance of encouraging people to speak about the mental health-related chal-lenges they may be facing, whether during COVID-19 or beyond.

“Issues surrounding mental health are still heavily stigmatized around the world – sometimes, people with mental health conditions are made to feel as if it is somehow their own fault,” she explained.

“Just as we should not be ashamed when we break a leg, we should not feel ashamed when we suffer from a mental health issue”.

She highlighted the need to pay proper attention to mental health among all levels of society, including children and elderly people, where the focus may be more on their physical wellbeing.

“The key components in dealing with these groups are more about proper commu-nication, which is essential to the wellbeing of both children and the elderly,” she said.

“The impact of mental health issues on elderly people

during COVID-19 is expected to be higher than for other groups, because they are likely to be heavily affected by iso-lation as well as a cognitive decline. Some may not be fully aware of what is happening around them, and we are not entirely sure that all the infor-mation they need is being pro-vided to them.

“The World Health Organ-ization has also developed guidance and advice for parents and healthcare providers on how to provide care for children during COVID-19, and how to enable them to face this crisis in the best way possible.”

Speaking about the role that WISH — Qatar Founda-tion’s global health initiative — is playing in offering plat-forms to tackle mental health-related issues, Dr. Kestel said that “Any kind of advocacy, locally and globally, is very important in fighting the stigma around mental health, raising awareness, and ena-bling people to understand the level of negative impact and the limitations that mental health issues can bring to their lives.”

Dr. Dévora Kestel, WHO Director of Mental Health and Substance Abuse

NMoQ to hold four digital exhibitionsfeaturing crowdsourced contentTHE PENINSULA — DOHA

The National Museum of Qatar (NMoQ) has announced the launch of four crowdsourced virtual exhibitions and invited its digital audience to contribute toward developing the content of each.

The online exhibitions, which will eventually be posted on the NMoQ’s website, will feature themes that are explored in the NMoQ’s per-manent installation, including Qatar’s Culinary Journey and Habitat & Shelters. The exhibi-tions provide a platform for sharing creative responses amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

The National Museum’s digital exhibitions will include:

Qatar’s Culinary JourneyIntangible heritage is an

important theme explored across the National Museum of Qatar’s permanent galleries.

This virtual exhibition will high-light traditional and personal interpretations of Qatari food.

The Museum asks for sub-missions of 2-3 photographs of traditional Qatari cuisine — from karak to gahwa to math-rooba, harees and other dishes — as well as a short statement explaining how the photog-rapher learned to make this dish.

Habitats & Shelters Inspired by the National

Museum’s “Qatar Natural Environment” and “Life in Al Barr (Desert)” permanent gal-leries, this virtual exhibition will explore how humans and Qatar’s wildlife take shelter in times of uncertainty to survive.

The Museum invites its digital audiences to share pho-tographs, sketches, or paintings of retreats they have created within their homes in response

to the COVID-19 pandemic. NMoQ Creates Together

Throughout history, great art has emerged from hardship. The current health crisis has prompted remote learning and working practices, as well as increased time at home for cre-ative exploration.

The Museum will launch the NMoQ Virtual Art Exhibition featuring the community’s artistic response to the COVID-19 pandemic and its related lifestyle shifts.

Submissions can include drawings, painting, sculptures, photography and video. This

exhibition targets ages six through 18 and will be cele-brated during children’s month in November.

Mal Lawal Home Edition Mal Lawal (“of the past,” in Arabic) is a Qatari biennial exhi-bition that was first presented at the QM Gallery ALRIWAQ in 2012.

It provides a public platform to share personal col-lections. The next edition, Mal Lawal 3, is scheduled to take place at the NMoQ in December 2020. At the same time, a special home edition of Mal Lawal will take place digitally.

Audiences are invited to par-ticipate by sending images and a brief description of their per-sonal collection.

All interested in contributing toward one or all of these

crowdsourced exhibitions can share 1-3 photographs, illustra-tions, and/or sketches, as well as a 100-word text responding to the specified exhibition (s) to nmoqexhibitions@qm.org.qa.

A poster for the NMoQ Virtual Art Exhibition which will feature the community’s artistic response to the COVID-19 pandemic and its related lifestyle shifts.

MME launches

drawing contest

for children on

COVID-19

THE PENINSULA — DOHA

The Ministry of Municipality and Environment (MME) has launched a drawing contest for children on health and behav-ioural guidelines to curb the spread of COVID-19.

The contest was launched under the volunteering work initiative of MME to educate children about healthy prac-tices to protect them, their families and entire community from the epidemic, the Min-istry has said.

The deadline for the par-ticipation is June 25, 2020. The winners of the contest will get valuable prizes. The idea behind the contest is to create awareness among the children about the importance of pre-ventive measure in a simple way. The entries should be emailed to draw.contest@mme.gov.qa. The contest will be held on social sites of the Ministry. Children from age 6 to 12 can participate.

The contestants are required to make a drawing expressing key guideline issued to curb the spread of COVID-19 in the sector of per-sonal hygiene and those required to maintain at public places.

The drawing will be made on a white paper A3 (30X40) using colours. A corner of the drawing should have details of the contestant like name, age, nationality, telephone number and email. A con-testant can participate with more than one drawing but one drawing should be made by only one contestant.

MME shifts 78 turtle nests to safer place at Fuwairit Beach

THE PENINSULA — DOHA

The team for the conservation of sea turtles at the Department of Protection and Wildlife of the Ministry of Municipality and Environment (MME) has shifted 78 turtle nests to the protected nests’ site at Fuwairit Beach.

The project of protecting the endangered sea turtle, hawksbill, is being imple-mented smoothly following all the precautionary measures to ensure the safety of the members of project team, said the Ministry in a statement.

The necessary measure-ments of turtles were taken, it was cleaned from snails and treatments were provided to those with wounds.

The number of nests is expected more this year com-pared to the previous year where it ached 92 nests.

So far, the number of nest this year reached 78. The nesting season will continue until the first week of the month of June so more nests are expected for this year.

The sea turtle conservation project, under the supervision of the Ministry of Municipality and Environment and funded by Qatar Petroleum is being implement by the Center for Environmental Sciences at Qatar University in cooper-ation with a team from the Department of Protection and Wildlife.

All interested in contributing toward one or all of these crowdsourced exhibitions can send 1-3 photographs, illustrations, and/or sketches, as accompanied by a 100-word text to nmoqexhibitions@qm.org.qa.

A Qatar Red Crescent Society official handing over food packs to people as part of QRCS food and Iftar distribution campaign in connection with the holy month of Ramadan.

MoPH: 242 more

recover as one

death reportedFROM PAGE 1

The reasons for the high numbers of new cases are due to the Ministry’s redoubling of its efforts in tracking the tran-sitional chains of the virus and expanding the circle of searching for infected people through intensive and proactive investigations of large numbers of contacts with people who have been con-firmed with the virus recently.

The Ministry said that the number of daily tests that it conducts on people depends primarily on the number of contacts with individuals con-firmed to be infected with the virus, as it conducts random checks in different places of the country as a proactive measure. This is in addition to the tests performed on patients in health centers and emer-gency departments.

The number of tests per-formed daily is not linked to the number of cases detected in terms of any rise or fall.

Anyone with symptoms of COVID-19 should either contact the 16000 helpline or go directly to one of the des-ignated health centers for testing.

04 SUNDAY 17 MAY 2020HOME

VCUarts Qatar hosts special onlinegraduation social for Class of 2020THE PENINSULA — DOHA

Virginia Commonwealth University School of the Arts in Qatar (VCUarts Qatar), a Qatar Foundation partner university, recently held a virtual social gathering to honour the grad-uates of the Class of 2020. This year, 67 students will be grad-uating from the art and design university, which is located in Education City.

The virtual gathering, which was organised by Student Development Senior Specialist Sarah Faheem, brought together the graduating students from VCUarts Qatar’s Art History, Fashion Design, Graphic Design, Interior Design, MFA in Design, and Painting and Printmaking programs.

It was also attended by VCUarts Qatar’s Dean, Amir Berbić; Interim Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, Dr. Cherif Amor; Dr. Valerie Jeremijenko, Assistant Dean for Student Affairs; the chairs of the Univer-sity’s many programs and departments; and the faculty and staff, some of whom wore their traditional graduating regalia of gown and cap to honour the Class of 2020 who have not yet had the chance to wear theirs formally.

VCUarts Qatar, which was

the first University at Qatar Foundation, was founded in 1998, and has a long tradition of producing graduates who are creative problem solvers.

“Artists and designers feed off adversity,” Berbić said, "and this has been known throughout the history of art and design. I reiterate the point that I count on all of you to come out of the current difficult situation, first of all healthy and strong, but also perhaps with a new per-spective on the world and how you can contribute to it in meaningful ways, despite the circumstances.”

Berbić also reminded the Class of 2020 to thank all those who supported them along the way, including their family, friends, colleagues, and the faculty and staff of VCUarts

Qatar. “It is important to rec-ognise those who contributed to your success. Of course we are here to celebrate you, but you had help, you had parents, you had siblings, you had other family members who were sup-portive of you, and have being cheering you on for all of these years, and it is important to say thanks to all of them.

“It is also an opportunity to recognise your professors and all of the faculty and staff who have stood by you and have guided you throughout this journey. I know how much heart is involved in the work that our faculty and staff do, so take the time to reach out and offer them your gratitude. I can tell you this as a teacher that nothing will make them happier to hear they had a positive

impact on a student. Congrat-ulations. You made it. I am super proud of you.”

The Class of 2020 includes 18 Graphic Design graduates, 18 Interior Design graduates, nine Painting and Printmaking grad-uates, nine Art History grad-uates, eight Fashion Design graduates, and five MFA in Design graduates.

The acknowledgement of momentous times and of being on a journey was felt strongly by everyone, and those senti-ments were emphasised by Val-edictorian and Art History graduate Daniah Farooq, who said, “I know that none of us

ever imagined that we would bid farewell to VCUarts Qatar like this, virtually. I would like to congratulate all of my fellow graduates for making it to the end without failing or giving up despite the unprecedented circumstances.

"I believe that it is a tes-tament that we all have matured enough to deal with the diffi-culties of life with a better sense and with the attitude of a warrior.”

Dr. Valerie Jeremijenko, the long-serving Assistant Dean for Student Affairs, who is retiring this year after joining VCUarts Qatar in 2002, and who put in

place many of the programs for students that didn’t exist when she joined VCUarts Qatar, said, “It’s amazing to be together in spite of the fact that we are not together, and to have this pre-celebration of an amazing cel-ebration that will happen in the future.”

Dr. Jeremijenko’s consid-erable legacy as a preeminent member of VCUarts Qatar can be seen across Education City, such as with the collaborations with other Education City uni-versities, and the exchanges with students from the Univer-sity’s home campus in Richmond, Virginia.

VCUarts Qatar students and faculty attend an online event to honour the graduates of the Class of 2020.

Ooredoo delivers Ramadan gifts to Fahad Bin Jassim Kidney CenterTHE PENINSULA — DOHA

Qatar’s leading telecommuni-cations operator yesterday announced it has delivered Ramadan gifts to patients at the Fahad Bin Jassim Kidney Center as part of its CSR programme, in spite of the logistical challenges presented by the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak.

O o r e d o o a r r a n g e d delivery of the gifts to patients undergoing treatment at the Kidney Fahad Bin Jassim Kidney Center in order to con-tinue its longstanding tra-dition of carrying out CSR activities in the community during Ramadan. All necessary precautions were taken to ensure the safety of delivery staff and gift recipients.

Sabah Rabiah Al Kuwari, Director PR at Ooredoo, said of the event: “Ramadan is the perfect time for us to find opportunities to show our support for the local com-

munity in a practical way."We are delighted to visit

and continue our support for the Fahad Bin Jassim Kidney Centre, and we hope everyone enjoyed receiving their gifts. We are determined to continue to support our local commu-nities during the Holy Month of Ramadan in any way we can, while complying with all g o v e r n m e n t s a f e t y directives.”

Toys4Me delivers gifts to children in quarantineTHE PENINSULA — DOHA

The novel coronavirus pandemic has caused global economic, social, and psycho-logical turmoil. Its ramifications have greatly impacted our lives, adults and children alike.

Although the adults of this world struggle to come to grips with the world’s new normal, it is truly the children who find themselves grappling to deal with these abrupt changes. Amid the pandemic, and in line with their social responsibility initiatives, Toys4Me has part-nered with Global Shippers to deliver a number of gifts to children in quarantine that aim to help them develop healthy behavioural patterns and to enrich their lives.

This initiative comes in accordance with the state of Qatar’s National Health Strategy.

The gifts and toys delivered by Toys4Me were developed as a means of expanding the chil-dren’s mental and learning capabilities, and to help engage them in a productive manner, instead of wasting their time engaging in unproductive activ-ities that weaken their mental and creative skills.

“In line with our social responsibility, we are pleased to announce our partnership with Global Shippers, which will see us deliver mentally-engaging, and developmental gifts and toys to the children of this great nation,” said Ashraf Abu Issa, Chairman of Abu Issa

Holding, and its subsidiary, Toys4Me.

“These toys and gifts will not only alleviate some of the hardships felt by our children due to the current global pan-demic, but it will also help entertain them, expand their mental and learning capabil-

ities and engage them in a pro-ductive manner.”

The private sector has a great social responsibility to uphold, along with all the state’s other institutions that aim to limit the spread of the COVID-19 in the State of Qatar.

Ashraf Abu Issa (left), Chairman of Abu Issa Holding and its subsidiary, Toys4Me, with other officials distributing gifts among children who are in quarantine.

Mercedes-Benz E-Class: Most intelligent executive sedanTHE PENINSULA — DOHA

With its distinct, emotive design, exclusive interior and impressive number of innova-tions, Mercedes-Benz is taking a big step into the future with the E-Class. The car is available now in Qatar at the showroom of Nasser Bin Khaled Automo-biles, the authorised distributor of Mercedes-Benz in Qatar. Marking the world premiere of numerous technical innovations that enabled comfortable, safe driving on a new level, plus a new dimension in driver assistance, the E-Class sees Mercedes-Benz taking another step closer to its goal of accident-free and autonomous driving.

The E-Class is the core of Mercedes-Benz brand, and in the past has repeatedly rede-fined the standards in the exec-utive-class segment. Now it carries this tradition into the future with a wealth of top-class innovations that take safety, stress relief and comfort to a new level. It is without doubt the most intelligent sedan in the executive class.

The design of the E-Class is characterised by hallmark Mer-cedes-Benz sedan proportions. The elongated bonnet coupled with a coupé-esque roof and broad-shouldered tail end creates an exciting silhouette,

while its extended powerful vehicle body is characterised by short overhangs, a long wheelbase, large wheels and taut well-defined flanks that display a fresh, stylish and dynamic interpretation of the feature line.

The muscular front end boasts a different look for each design and equipment line — Exclusive and Avantgarde Line models — with each of the radiator grill designs lending the E-Class a distinct character.

The interior of the E-Class embodies the synthesis of emotion and intelligence. Optional extras include the Widescreen Cockpit with two brilliant next-generation high-resolution displays, each with a wide screen diagonal of 12.3 inches — unique in this

segment. As the entire cockpit is fully digital, the driver is free to configure the information and views of relevance for them and thus create their own per-sonal cockpit.

In a first for a car, the steering wheel features touch-sensitive Touch Controls that, like a smartphone interface, respond precisely to horizontal and vertical swiping move-ments. In keeping with the motto “hands on the wheel, eyes on the road”, this allows minimum driver distraction to be achieved.

High-quality materials define the interior style. They include open-pore woods, wood in a yachting look with flowing lines as a contemporary interpretation of inlaid wood and a novel metal fabric. Just as

carefully composed is the colour concept with various shades of brown, including attractive colour combinations such as nut brown/macchiato and saddle brown/macchiato.

A further highlight of the

E-Class are its seats. Their ergo-nomic, sculptural form com-bines Mercedes-Benz’s hallmark suitability for long journeys with a refined, sporty look, featuring a unique design for each line. Furthermore,

Active Multicontour Seat package is also available as an option for the front seats. This includes functions such as ener-gizing massage, dynamic seat, multicontour backrest and the active cushion.

Ooredoo arranged delivery of the gifts to patients undergoing treatment at the Kidney Fahad Bin Jassim Kidney Center in order to continue its longstanding tradition of carrying out CSR activities in the community during Ramadan.

“Artists and designers feed off adversity. And this has been known throughout the history of art and design. I reiterate the point that I count on all of you to come out of the current difficult situation, first of all healthy and strong, but also perhaps with a new perspective on the world and how you can contribute to it in meaningful ways, despite the circumstances,” said VCUarts Qatar’s Dean, Amir Berbic.

05SUNDAY 17 MAY 2020 MIDDLE EAST

Iran reports 35 new coronavirus deaths, lowest since March 7AFP — TEHRAN

Iran yesterday reported 35 new deaths from the coronavirus - the lowest number since March 7 despite infections rising — and announced a further relaxation of COVID-19-related closures.

“Despite the unfortunate loss of 35 of our compatriots in the past 24 hours, this number is the lowest in the past 70 days,” Health Ministry spokesman Kianoush Jahanpour said.

The new deaths brought the overall toll to 6,937, he added.

But in an ominous sign, Iran on Friday reported its highest number of new infections in more than a month. “We are in no way in a normal situation yet,” Jahanpour said.

He said 1,757 new corona-virus cases had been confirmed across Iran in the 24 hours to Saturday, bringing the overall total to 118,392.

Of those hospitalised since Iran announced its first cases in

the Shia holy city of Qom in Feb-ruary, 93,147 have recovered and been discharged, according to the health ministry.

Jahanpour said the south-western province of Khuzestan had the highest number of new hospitalisations and that the sit-uation was “critical” in most of

its counties.The key oil-producing

province on the border with Iraq has become Iran’s new coronavirus focal point, labelled “red” on Iran’s colour-coded risk scale.

Khuzestan is the only province so far where author-ities have reimposed shutdowns on businesses after a coun-trywide relaxation in April.

The renewed closures in more than half of the province’s counties were extended until Monday, Iran’s ISNA news agency reported.

Governor Gholamreza Shariati warned of “fatigue” among medical workers as cases rise and appealed to res-idents to stay home.

At a meeting of Iran’s coro-navirus task force on Saturday, President Hassan Rouhani announced a timetable for further relaxations.

He said that in 218 low-risk counties people would be

allowed to attend Friday prayers next week.

They would also be allowed to join annual Jerusalem Day rallies in solidarity with the Palestinians.

In Tehran, which is deemed high-risk, a “symbolic cer-emony” would be performed with a motorcade supervised by the Revolutionary Guards.

Rouhani said that from May 24 restaurants will be allowed to reopen.

Pilgrims will be allowed to visit the outdoor areas of Shiite shrines but only during six hours of the day.

On June 6, universities, which have been closed since early March, will hold their final exams. “We must respect social

distancing until further notice... (this epidemic) can last for months,” the president cautioned.

He said that temporary leave for prisoners will be extended until June 20.

Iran’s judiciary began pro-gressively granting detainees furlough in March and more than 100,000 are now on leave.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani makes a statement at National Coronavirus Combat Board Meeting in Tehran, yesterday.

Iran warns US against any move on fuel shipment to VenezuelaREUTERS — DUBAI

An Iranian news agency close to the elite Revolutionary Guards said that there would be repercussions if the United States acts “just like pirates” against an Iranian fuel shipment to Venezuela.

A senior official in President Donald Trump’s administration said on Thursday the United States was considering measures it could take in response to Iran’s shipment of fuel to crisis-stricken Venezuela.

The oil sectors of Iran and Venezuela — members of OPEC

that both are deeply at odds with the United States - are under tough US sanctions. The Trump administration official declined to specify the measures being weighed but said options would be pre-sented to Trump.

“If the United States, just like pirates, intends to create insecurity on international waterways, it would be taking a dangerous risk and that will certainly not go without reper-cussion,” the Nour news agency said early yesterday.

At least one tanker carrying fuel loaded at an Iranian port has set sail for Venezuela,

according to vessel tracking data from Refinitiv Eikon on Wednesday, which could help ease an acute scarcity of petrol in the South American country.

The Iran-flagged medium tanker Clavel earlier on Wednesday passed the Suez Canal after loading fuel at the end of March at Iran’s Bandar Abbas port, according to the data.

“News received from informed sources indicate that the US Navy has sent four war-ships and a Boeing P-8 Poseidon from the VP-26 squadron to the Caribbean region,” Nour said.

Venezuela is in desperate

need of gasoline and other refined fuel products to keep the country functioning amid an economic collapse that has occurred under socialist President Nicolas Maduro. It produces crude oil but its infrastructure has been crippled during the economic crisis.

A Venezuelan official said last month that Venezuela had received refining mate-rials via plane from Iran to help it start a unit at the 310,000 barrels-per-day Cardon refinery, which is necessary to produce gasoline.

Over 250 global artists urge Israel to end Gaza blockadeAFP — PARIS

More than 250 global artists and writers including rocker Peter Gabriel, director Ken Loach and actor Viggo Mortensen have appealed to Israel to stop the “siege” of Gaza.

The coronavirus epidemic could have a devastating effect in “the world’s largest open air prison”, the artists said in an online letter. “Long before the global outbreak of COVID-19 threatened to overwhelm the already devastated healthcare system in Gaza, the UN had predicted that the blockaded coastal strip would be unliveable by 2020,” the letter said. “With the pandemic, Gaza’s almost two million inhabitants, predominantly refugees, face a mortal threat in the world’s largest open-air prison,” it added.

Other signatories included poet Taha Adnan, Canadian writer Naomi Klein and British group Massive Attack.

The Gaza Strip has been under an Israeli blockade since 2007 when the Islamist movement Hamas took control of the enclave.

Israel argues the measures are necessary to isolate Hamas, considered a terrorist organisation by most Western countries.

It says that restrictions on some imports to the coastal strip are designed to deny Hamas materials that could be used to enhance its fighting capabilities. Israel and Hamas have fought three wars since the group took control of the enclave, but reached a tentative truce in late 2018 that was renewed after successive flare-ups last year.

“Well before the ongoing crisis, Gaza’s hospitals were already stretched to breaking point through lack of essential resources denied by Israel’s siege. Its healthcare system could not cope with the thousands of gunshot wounds, leading to many amputations,” the artists said.

Vehicles to mark Iran’s annual anti-Israel rallyREUTERS — DUBAI

Rallies next week in Tehran to mark the annual Al Quds Day against Israel will involve Iranians driving in vehicles not marching through the streets, to avoid spreading the coronavirus, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said on state television on Saturday.

The elite Revolutionary Guards would be in charge of organ-ising the rallies, Rouhani said, adding that those joining in could still chant slogans from their vehicles and wave flags.

Rallies to mark Quds Day, which uses the Arabic name for Jerusalem, are held in towns and cities across the country and aim to show of support for the Palestinians. Typically those marching chant “Death to Israel” and burn the Israeli flag.

Rouhani said Quds Day, held each year on the last Friday of the fasting month of Ramadan which falls on May 22, would go ahead as normal in 218 other towns and cities, where the coro-navirus outbreak has been less severe than the capital.

“The coronavirus danger is still there, but our situation is better than before,” he said. “We have crossed the main peak.” As of Sat-urday, Iran’s death toll from the pandemic stood at 6,937 with 118,392 diagnosed cases, the health ministry said.

Shia shrines dotted around the country are due to reopen for six hours a day after Ramadan, which is based on the lunar cal-endar and is expected to end around May 24 this year.

Iraqi PM tries out a military uniformIraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al Kadhimi wears a military uniform of Popular Mobilization Forces during his meeting with Head of the Popular Mobilisation Forces, Faleh Al Fayyad, in Baghdad yesterday.

Iran sentences

French academic

to six years in

prison: Lawyer

REUTERS — DUBAI

Iran has sentenced French-Iranian academic Fariba Adelkhah to six years in prison on national security charges, her lawyer said yesterday, drawing protests from the French government which demanded her immediate release.

“The court has sentenced her to six years,” said Saeid Dehghan.

“The branch 15 of Tehran’s Revolutionary Court has sen-tenced her to five years jail for gathering and conspiring against Iran’s national security. She was also sentenced to one year jail term for propaganda against the Islamic Republic.” Dehghan said he would appeal against the sentence.

France’s Foreign Ministry said Adelkhah’s conviction was politically motivated.

“This sentencing is not based on any serious element or fact and is thus a political decision,” the ministry said in a statement. “We are urging Iranian authorities to imme-diately release Mrs Adelkhah.” Iran has rejected France’s pre-vious calls to release the 60-year-old anthropologist who has been detained since June 2019, saying the demands were an interference in Tehran’s internal affairs. Tehran does not recognise dual nationality.

Spying charges against Adelkhah had been dropped, Dehghan said in March, but she remained in jail on other security-related charges.

In March, Iran released Adelkhah’s partner, French academic Roland Marchal, who was detained along with her. Marchal was released after France freed Iranian engineer Jalal Ruhollahnejad, detained over alleged viola-tions of US sanctions against Tehran.

Yemeni govt claims Houthis seized WHO medical aidANATOLIA — YEMEN

Yemen Information Minister Muammar Al Iryani claimed yesterday that the Houthi group seized medical equipment aid sent by the World Health Organization (WHO).

“Medical equipment aid provided by WHO were sent to hospitals in regions where Houthis are present, but they

seized them in order to send them to their own supporters,” Al Iryani said on Twitter.

He asked the UN to condemn the move by the Houthis and demanded the group be forced to send the medical supplies to hospitals.

Yemen has been beset by violence and chaos since 2014, when Houthi rebels overran much of the country, including

the capital of Sana’a. The crisis escalated in 2015 when a Saudi-led military coalition launched a devastating air campaign aimed at rolling back Houthi territorial gains.

Since then, tens of thou-sands of Yemenis, including civilians, are believed to have been killed in the conflict, while another 14 million are at risk of starvation, according to the UN.

‘Lockdown may cause behavioural changes among children’ANATOLIA — ANKARA

Children may exhibit behav-ioural and emotional changes due to the extended lockdown situation in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, Turkish psychologists have said.

“Especially toddlers and preschool children may not feel safe because they are in a new and uncertain routine. Within this period, children can uncon-sciously show some regression in their behavior as a coping skill, returning to a develop-mental stage where they feel safer,” Selin Ozcan said.

Ozcan, an expert on child and adolescent psychology,

added that adolescents may feel introverted and unhappy as they are somehow separated from their friends and spend more time with the family at home.

Not all children react the same, she said, stressing the importance of the family’s attitude amid the pandemic and the personality of the child.

“In some families, it can also beneficial for children to do child-oriented activities while spending time together at home,” she said, adding that it could be a good opportunity to observe the child’s games and behaviours when they are afraid or worried.

Basak Karateke, a psychol-ogist at Ufuk University in Ankara, said that changing rou-tines amid the pandemic is a difficult situation for people of all ages.

“When we look at children, in particular, the areas they will express themselves, the people they will communicate with and the ways of communication are restricted. Numerous options such as going to school, spending time at gardens or parks with friends, going for a walk, hugging, playing games have been firstly restricted for hygiene and then in the form of home quarantine,” Karateke said.

This situation is serious

enough to reach the points that may negatively affect children’s development processes, she added.

Karateke added that the group that will experience the most difficulties in this process will be the children who have lost a parent as well as the children of healthcare workers.

“Interrupting the rela-tionship with the parent and trying to deal with this emo-tional loss in quarantine condi-tions can be an unforgettable experience for these children,” she said.

The children who are left at home alone and have a stimulus deficit are also vulnerable amid

the pandemic, she said.“These children, who

cannot experience their needs such as communication and activity appropriate for their age, will likely have a slowdown in all areas of cognitive, emo-tional, physical and social development,” Karateke said.

“Preschool children can express their anxiety and fear most easily in games,” Ozcan said, adding that It is important to follow the games that children set up and direct on their own. She recommended parents to play games with their children as it could help families to under-stand what their children are experiencing and concerning.

“Despite the unfortunate loss of 35 of our compatriots in the past 24 hours, this number is the lowest in the past 70 days,” Health Ministry spokesman Kianoush Jahanpour said adding: “We are in no way in a normal situation yet.”

06 SUNDAY 17 MAY 2020AFRICA

Rwanda genocide suspectKabuga held near Parisafter decades on the runREUTERS — PARIS/KAMPALA

Rwandan genocide suspect Felicien Kabuga, who is accused of funding militias that massacred about 800,000 people, was arrested yesterday near Paris after 26 years on the run, the French justice ministry said.

The 84-year-old, who is Rwanda’s most-wanted man and had a $5m US bounty on his head, was living under a false identity in a flat in Asnieres-Sur-Seine, according to the ministry.

French gendarmes arrested him at 0530 GMT yesterday, the ministry said.

Kabuga was indicted in 1997 on seven criminal counts including genocide, complicity in genocide and incitement to commit genocide, all in relation to the 1994 Rwanda genocide, according to the UN-estab-lished International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tri-bunals (IRMCT).

Rwanda’s two main ethnic groups are the Hutus and Tutsis, who have historically had an antagonistic relationship and fought a civil war in the early 1990s.

A Hutu businessman, Kabuga is accused of funding the militias that massacred some 800,000 Tutsis and their moderate Hutu allies over a span of 100 days in 1994.

“Since 1994, Felicien

Kabuga, known to have been the financier of Rwanda gen-ocide, had with impunity stayed in Germany, Belgium, Congo-Kinshasa, Kenya, or Swit-zerland,” the French ministry statement said.

His arrest paves the way for the fugitive to come before the Paris Appeal Court and later be transferred to the custody of the international court, which is based in the Hague, Netherlands and Arusha, Tanzania. He would then be brought before UN judges, an IRMCT spokesman said.

Two other Rwandan gen-ocide suspects, Augustin Biz-imana and Protais Mpiranya, are still being pursued by inter-national justice.

“The arrest of Félicien

Kabuga today is a reminder that those responsible for genocide can be brought to account, even twenty-six years after their crimes,” the IRMCT’s Chief Prosecutor Serge Brammertz said in a statement.

He added the arrest was the result of cooperation between law enforcement agencies in France and other countries including the United States, Rwanda, Belgium, the United Kingdom, Germany, the Nether-lands and others.

Rwanda’s justice minister, Johnston Busingye, said that a statement on the arrest would be issued but did not specify when.

Kabuga, who controlled many of Rwanda’s tea and coffee plantations and factories, was part-owner of Radio Tel-evision Milles Collines which ran a radio station that fanned ethnic hatred against Rwanda’s Tutsis, told Hutus where Tutsis were to be found and offered advice on how to kill them.

He is accused of being a main financier of the genocide, paying for the militias that carried out the massacres.

His arrest “is an important step towards justice for hun-dreds of thousands of genocide victims...survivors can hope to see justice and suspects cannot expect to escape accounta-bility,” Mausi Segun, Africa director at Human Rights Watch, said.

Truck drivers are seen near their parked vehicles as they await test results, amid the spread of the coronavirus disease outbreak at the Namanga one-stop border crossing point between Kenya and Tanzania, in Namanga, Kenya.

Kenya closes borders with Tanzania,Somalia to stem spread of virusREUTERS — NAIROBI

Kenya’s President Uhuru Kenyatta yesterday banned movement across the country’s borders with Tanzania and Somalia to help curb the spread of the coronavirus.

He exempted cargo trucks but said drivers would have to be tested for COVID-19.

“There will be a cessation of movement of persons and any passenger-ferrying auto-mobiles and vehicles into and out of the territory of Kenya through the Kenya-Tanzania international border,” Kenyatta said in a televised address.

The same measures would apply on the border with Somalia, he said.

Kenyatta also extended by 21 days an existing dusk-to-dawn curfew and a ban on movement in and out of areas of Kenya worst hit by the coro-navirus outbreak.

“I know there is growing global pressure for easing of measures against this disease and for all of us to get back to normal,” he said.

“We are going to step up our defence by employing stricter, more localised prevention actions.” Kenya first imposed restrictions of movement in and

out of the capital Nairobi, Mombasa, Kilifi and Kwale on the Indian Ocean coast and Mandera in the northeast in April.

The east African nation has also imposed bans on public gatherings, large funerals and shuttered schools.

Kenya has 830 confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus, with 50 deaths.

Kenyatta said authorities had so far prevented 78 truck drivers from neighbouring countries, including Tanzania and Somalia from entering Kenya after they tested positive for COVID-19.

Zimbabwe to ease

virus curbs, but

lockdown to

remain for now

REUTERS — HARARE

Zimbabwe will keep its coro-navirus lockdown for the time being, though businesses will be allowed to open for longer and the restrictions will be reviewed every two weeks, President Emmerson Mnan-gagwa said yesterday.

The southern African nation, which has reported 42 cases and four deaths from the novel coronavirus, went into lockdown on March 30 and has been gradually easing the measures to help revive its troubled economy.

Economic fallout from the coronavirus outbreak will exacerbate climate-induced shocks and monetary woes afflicting an economy battling shortages of foreign exchange, food electricity and medicines.

“Zimbabwe will... continue on the level two lockdown for an indefinite period. The country needs to ease out of the lockdown in a strategic and gradual manner,” Mnangagwa said in a live broadcaast.

He said informal street markets, where millions of Zim-babweans eke a leaving selling everything from used clothes to vegetables, will remain shut while the government consults health specialists on how to reopen them safely.

Businesses such as manu-facturers, supermarkets and banks, which have been allowed to continue operating, will now be able to work between 8am and 4.30pm compared with the six-hour day imposed previously.

Shared taxis will remain banned, forcing commuters to use buses operated by the state, which have struggled to cope with demand.

Mnangagwa said the hun-dreds of Zimbabwean migrants returning home every week, mainly from South Africa and Botswana, will have to undergo a 21-day quarantine in school and college buildings set aside for the purpose.

The president said only students writing final exami-nations this year would be allowed to resume classes but did not say when. The gov-ernment is still working on plans of phased re-opening of schools.

South Africa’s mass testing hits limits; virus spreadsAFP — JOHANNESBURG

With an expert flick of the wrist, South African nurse Bhelekazi Mdlalose collected throat swabs from young men lining up for coronavirus testing at a run-down hostel in downtown Johannesburg.

Health workers were sent to the overcrowded block of single-room flats — mainly occupied by men from rural areas doing odd jobs in the city — as part of a mass community screening and testing (CST) campaign launched by the gov-ernment last month.

Mdlalose, who is employed by Doctors Without Borders (MSF), left her family and usual job in the northwestern town of Rustenberg in March to support community work in Johannesburg.

Aged 51, she trains gov-ernment health workers to handle suspected coronavirus patients correctly, checking in on CST teams deployed to town-ships, offices and shopping malls.

“We identify those that are COVID-19 positive and those that have symptoms,” said Mdlalose.

“These are vulnerable people,” she added, pointing out that most would not even think to visit a clinic when sick. “By being here we actually target the right group.” But as South Africa’s coronavirus outbreak

picks up pace — with confirmed cases creeping over 13,500, including 247 deaths — Mdlalose and other health experts are beginning to see the limits of the country’s lauded community screening strategy.

“It’s definitely a very high resource activity,” admitted MSF doctor Claire Keene, who monitors CST in Cape Town’s sprawling Khayeli tsha township. “I think we are

approaching capacity in what we can do, both to detect cases but also to follow them up.”

South Africa’s aggressive COVID-19 screening and testing approach is modelled on years of experience fighting tubercu-losis and HIV.

“We decided that we shouldn’t just wait in hospitals for patients to arrive,” said the government’s top coronavirus advisor Salim Abdool Karim.

“We had to have a more proactive approach and go out there.” Around 28,000 health workers have been mobilised over the past month, aiming to test 10,000 people per day.

They have screened over nine million people so far, around 15 percent of the popu-lation, and tested more than 420,000. “This is the largest and most extensive public health mobilisation in the history of

our country,” President Cyril Ramaphosa said during an address this week.

But labs have been strug-gling to keep up and medical staff say it can now take up to two weeks for test results to arrive, up from an initial two to three days.

“The labs are being filled with community testing,” said doctor Ian Proudfoot, MSF clinical edu-cator in Khayelitsha.

“With longer and longer turnaround times... someone somewhere has got to make a decision about where the (testing) priority lies,” he added.

Heal th department spokesman Popo Maja admitted that labs were “struggling”.

“We expected this,” hesaid. “This is by far the largest pan-demic known to humankind.”

Mdlalose sighed in frus-tration earlier this week as she pulled on protective gear and counted up swab kits to test the 20-odd workers of a community clinic outside Johannesburg.

She was sent after the clinic manager failed to submit swab samples from staff, who as medical workers should all be tested. “They didn’t have enough test kits,” said Mdlalose.

The small facility was already struggling to swab an average of four suspected cases per day coming from the sur-rounding township.

Health personnel wait in line to be tested for COVID-19 at the Vlakfontein Clinic in Lenasia, Johannesburg, on Wednesday.

Burundi defies COVID-19 for election ending divisive ruleAP — KAMPALA

Burundi is pushing ahead with an election on Wednesday that will end the president’s divisive and bloody 15-year rule.

When President Pierre Nkurunziza hands over power, it could be the first truly peaceful transfer of authority in the East African nation since independence in 1962.

But the coronavirus poses a threat to the May 20 vote. Burundi has kicked out World Health Organisation workers after con-cerns were raised. The WHO Africa director messaged the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention chief about political rallies the day that Burundi’s cam-paigning launched and images of crowds circulated online.

Authorities have been accused

by critics of downplaying the pan-demic and citing divine protection. But the government appears to be using virus measures to limit election observers, warning the East African regional bloc on May 8 that arriving foreigners face a 14-day quarantine.

More than the virus, however, it’s the fear of vio-lence that weighs on many of the more than 5 million people eligible to vote.

Government agents have been accused of harassing the main opposition party, the CNL, whose leader Agathon Rwasa is believed to be in a close race with Nkurunziza’s chosen suc-cessor in the ruling CNDD-FDD, Evariste Ndayishimiye.

More than 145 CNL members have been arrested since campaigning began on

April 27, according to SOS Medias Burundi, a group of independent journalists. Police spokesman Pierre Nkurikiye has accused Rwasa of making “incendiary and defamatory” remarks and inciting revolt.

Rwasa, the deputy par-liament speaker, has drawn large crowds despite the risks of openly supporting him, according to an online group of activists known as i-Burundi.

The group worries that a rigged election could spark the kind of street demonstrations that marked the previous vote in 2015.

“The ruling party was hoping to use this post-Nku-runziza election to gain a sem-blance of legitimacy, but given what’s happening we might end up with more violence,” i-Burundi said in an interview.

Senegalese return to mosques after restrictions easedAFP — DAKAR

Some Senegalese mosques opened their doors on Friday after the government eased coronavirus restrictions, but others judged the rate of infection too high and stayed shut.

Senegalese President Macky Sall said this week that public prayers could resume in the West African country, pro-vided that mosques obey social-distancing rules.

More than 90 percent of Senegal is Muslim and most of the faithful follow Sufi broth-erhoods, which retain consid-erable influence in the nation of 16 million people.

In the seaside capital Dakar on Friday, according to jour-nalists, thousands of wor-shippers flocked to Massalikul Jinaan mosque — which is one

of West Africa’s largest and belongs to the powerful Mouride brotherhood.

Mosque spokesman Mor Daga Sylla said that religious authorities had insisted the faithful wash their hands and keep one metre away from one another. “We were uncompro-mising,” he said.

A similar scene played out in the Dakar suburb of Mbao, where water and soap were placed in front of the local mosque, and the majority of worshippers wore facemasks.

Inside, the mosque’s imam, Pape Moussa Seck, preached a sermon calling the coronavirus a “divine ordeal” caused by religious infractions such as “the indecent clothing of young girls, assaults and murders”.

Senegalese authorities have recorded 2,310 cases to date, including 25 fatalities.

Kabuga was indicted in 1997 on seven criminal counts including genocide, complicity in genocide and incitement to commit genocide, all in relation to the 1994 Rwanda genocide, according to the UN-established International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals.

07SUNDAY 17 MAY 2020 ASIA

India’s total infections surpass China; contagion slowingREUTERS — NEW DELHI

India’s total novel corornavirus cases rose to 85,940 yesterday, taking it past China, where the pandemic originated last year, though a strict lockdown enforced since late March has reduced the rate of contagion.

State leaders, businesses and working class Indians have called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi to reopen the battered economy, but the gov-ernment is expected to extend the lockdown, which would otherwise expire today, though

with fewer restrictions.So far the death rate in India

appears far better, according to health ministry data, with 2,752 fatalities reported, compared with China’s 4,600. The toll in the United States, United Kingdom and Italy is much higher.

Health Minister Harsh Vardhan was also encouraged by the slowing rate of infection, as it now takes 11 days for the number of cases to double, whereas before the lockdown cases were doubling every 3 1/2 days.

“Clearly the situation has improved due to lockdown. We have utilised this period of lockdown to accelerate public health measures such as case detection, contact tracing, iso-lation and management of cases,” Vardhan said.

Indian officials say the low death rate could be because a majority of people infected with the virus were either asymto-matic or had mild symptoms and that the vast shutdown imposed early on had helped avoid a major catastrophe.

A third of the infections are from the western state of Maharashtra, with Mumbai the worst hit, followed by Tamil Nadu, Gujarat and Delhi.

These are also the most important economic centres of the country, complicating the government’s task as it tries to re-open without triggering a big spurt in infections.

“India is still in the growth phase, since total cases are still rising. Active cases are growing at 3.8% (daily) — and this needs to fall to 0% and decline subse-quently for the country to

recover overall,” Shamika Ravi, a Brookings expert and former member of the Indian Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council, said.

One area of concern has been India’s low testing in relation to its large population, public health officials say. The country has ramped up testing since the beginning of April to 100,000 this week, but with 1.3 billion people on a per capita basis it is trailing far behind other major countries such as the United States, the United Kingdom and Italy.

So far the death rate in India appears far better, according to health ministry data, with 2,752 fatalities reported, compared with China’s 4,600. The toll in the United States, United Kingdom and Italy is much higher.

30 migrant workers deadin road accidents in IndiaAFP — NEW DELHI

At least 30 Indian migrant workers were killed yesterday in road accidents as they tried to return to their home villages during a nationwide corona-virus lockdown, officials said.

The accidents, in central and northern India, were the latest involving some of the mil-lions of labourers left stranded and jobless by the seven-week shutdown.

Scores have died in road and rail accidents and even from exhaustion walking home.

In the most deadly incident, a truck carrying about 40 labourers struck another vehicle also carrying workers and their families that was parked at a roadside cafe in Uttar Pradesh, local magistrate Abishek Singh said.

At least 25 were killed and 30 injured.

It is thought the driver of the truck had fallen asleep, Singh said. The vehicle was carrying

lime powder which suffocated many of those who died, all of whom were men, he added.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi called the accident “extremely tragic” in a Twitter post and said relief work was in “full swing” at the scene.

A drunk driver was blamed for the second accident, in Madhya Pradesh, when a truck bringing labourers back from neighbouring Maharashtra state overturned, local official Shashi Mishra said.

Four of the five dead were women and 17 people were injured, he added.

The millions of labourers, who live off subsistence wages, have become a major concern for the government as it pre-pares to ease the lockdown from tomorrow in a bid to get the economy moving again.

The government has responded to criticism of its handling of the migrant worker crisis by promising extra finance to get those stranded

back home and provide food rations.

Many businesses shut down overnight after the lockdown began on March 25, leaving mil-

lions suddenly out of work.Desperate to return to their

home states, many migrants have walked hundreds of kilo-metres or hitched rides on

trucks.Sixteen were killed this

month when a train ran over them as they slept on a railway track.

Migrant workers board on a truck to return to their hometowns after the government eased a nationwide lockdown, on the outskirts of Hyderabad, India, yesterday.

Australia's Victoria state battles coronavirus clustersREUTERS — MELBOURNE

Struggling to curb the spread of the coronavirus while the rest of Australia has begun relaxing a two-month lockdown, Victoria state yesterday reported 11 new cases, including some linked to known clusters at a meat factory and a McDon-ald’s restaurant.

The nationwide tally of new cases had still to be compiled for yesterday, but on Friday the southeastern state had accounted for 20 of the 31 new cases reported across the country.

New South Wales, the most

populous state, has been hardest hit by COVID-19, but new cases there have subsided, with just three reported yesterday.

For the first weekend since mid-March, restaurants and cafes were re-opening in most parts of Australia, including New South Wales, but Victoria retained most of its lockdown measures.

The northeast state of Queensland, where just one case was reported yesterday, also eased its restrictions over the weekend, allowing restau-rants, cafes and beauty salons to reopen, and groups of 10

people to meet for recreational purposes in parks, at play-grounds or for barbecues.

Australia has recorded just over 7,000 COVID-19 cases, including 98 deaths, signifi-cantly below levels reported in North America and Europe, but health officials continued to urge vigilance and encouraged people to stay home.

Victoria state health min-ister, Jenny Mikakos, said that it was “inevitable” that there will be more coronavirus outbreaks.

“It’s important that eve-ryone understands this

pandemic is not over,” Mikakos said during a televised briefing. “It is important people take every possible precaution.”

Two of Victoria’s new cases were connected to a cluster at a meat factory, where 98 people have been infected so far. Another new case was linked to a McDonald’s restaurant in Melbourne, bringing the total number of cases in that cluster to 11.

Earlier this week, Australia reported record high job losses as a result of the lockdown and Prime Minister Scott Morrison warned that worse was still to come.

Myanmar health checksA military health worker (left) wearing protective gear takes the body temperature of a worker from the Tsang Yih Foot Wear company during a health check-up operation at the Hlaing Thar Yar industrial zone in an effort to contain the spread of the coronavirus, in Yangon, Myanmar, yesterday.

Cambodia says all COVID-19 patients recovered, no new casesREUTERS — PHNOM PENH

Cambodia’s last patient with the new coronavirus has recovered and left hospital, leaving the Southeast Asian country with zero cases, the health ministry said yesterday, while urging continued vigilance.

No easing of restrictions related to the virus — including school closures and border entry checks and quarantines — were included in the Ministry of Health statement.

Cambodia has reported 122 cases of the virus that causes COVID-19 and no deaths from the disease since it emerged in China and started spreading around the world, infecting

more than 4.5 million and killing about 300,000 since January.

A 36-year-old woman from Cambodia’s northwestern province of Banteay Meanchey

was released from the Khmer Soviet Friendship Hospital in the capital, Phnom Penh, and was presented to the media in a livestream yesterday, thanking the health authorities.

Cambodia’s last reported new case was on April 12. A total of 14,684 tests have been done since January, the ministry said.

Health Minister Mam Bunheng urged people to remain vigilant and take pre-cautions such as not gathering

in large groups.“We think that most of the

cases, generally, are imported, so we must be careful with all checkpoints at the border, at airports, at ports, at land check-points,” Mam Bunheng told reporters.

“People who travel from abroad must have a certificate confirming that they don’t have COVID-19. Only then would we allow them in, and once they are in, they will be quarantined for another 14 days,” he said.

Intruder snaps selfies in closed Australian museumAFP — SYDNEY

Police in Australia are hunting a man who took a late-night tour of a closed Sydney museum, posing for selfies with a dinosaur skull before making off with a cowboy hat and a picture.

The intruder climbed up scaffolding into The Australian Museum at around 1:00 am last Sunday and went on a leisurely wander through the empty building, local police said.

“He was in there for about 40 minutes... he certainly enjoyed his night at the museum,” New South Wales Police Detective Chief Inspector Sean Heaney said on Friday.

Security cameras caught the man taking photos with dis-plays, posing with his head

inside the jaws of a Tyranno-saurus skull and searching cupboards.

The man eventually left the museum with the hat and a picture from a wall, officers said.

The Australian Museum has been closed since last year for renovations and police believe the refurbishment work made his entry easier.

Other museums and gal-leries around Australia are also closed as part of coronavirus shutdowns.

“It’s very serious, we shouldn’t make light of this,” Heaney said, as he appealed for witnesses to help catch the man.

“We’re lucky he hasn’t damaged any historical arti-facts or anything that is expensive in there.”

Thailand extends

ban on incoming

overseas flights

until end June

REUTERS — BANGKOK

Thailand yesterday extended a ban on international passenger flights until the end of June, the country’s aviation regulator said, as new cases in the country dwindle.

The Civil Aviation Author-ity’s ban extends a previous order that was set to run until the end of May.

The announcement comes as the country begins to relax local restrictions after reporting single-digit increases of infections from the new coronavirus this month.

The government will allow malls and department stores to re-open today. It will also shorten a nighttime curfew by one hour, to 2300 to 0400, from 2200 to 0400.

The aviation regulator first introduced the sus-pension of international flights in April in a bid to curb the spread of the coronavirus.

Thailand yesterday reported no new coronavirus cases or deaths as the country began to reopen businesses and ease restrictions.

"Today there are two zeros ... thank you all Thais who have given their cooper-ation," a spokesman for the government's Centre for COVID-19 Situation Admin-i s t r a t i o n , T a w e e s i n Wisanuyothin, said.

This is the second day since March 9 that the country has reported no new daily cases. The country has reported a total of 3,025 cases of the coronavirus and 56 fatalities from the virus.

Indonesia tohost US firmsrelocatingfrom China

ANATOLIA — JAKARTA

Indonesia is clearing up 4,000 hectares of land in Central Java to accommodate US companies planning to relocate from China in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic and an escalating trade war, a top official said.

Central Java Governor Ganjar Pranowo said the plan was a follow-up of a phone call between Indonesian Pres-ident Joko Widodo and his US counterpart Donald Trump.

“But we have not had any report of the companies’ names so far,” Ganjar told Anatolia.

On April 25, Trump in a phone call with the Indonesian President discussed plans to purchase ventilators and pos-sible investment in the country, especially for pharmaceuticals.

In the first quarter of 2020, some $141bn were invested in Indonesia, of which more than 46% was foreign investment, according to the country’s investment body BKPM.

Meanwhile, Indonesia's health ministry yesterday reported 13 new deaths from COVID-19, taking the toll to 1,089.

Singapore

reports 465 new

virus cases, one

additional deathREUTERS — SINGAPORE

Singapore registered 465 new coronavirus infections, its health ministry said yesterday, taking the city-state’s total to 27,356 cases.

The vast majority of the newly infected people are migrant workers living in dor-mitories, the health ministry said in a statement. Four are permanent residents.

Singapore also reported one more death, bringing the virus-related death toll in the island nation to 22.

Cambodia’s last reported new case was on April 12. A total of 14,684 tests have been done since January. Cambodia has reported 122 cases of the virus that causes COVID-19 and no deaths from the disease.

We have successfully coordinated a shipment to Peru, via Doha-Amsterdam, carrying medical equipment and supplies from Shanghai, China through Qatar Airways-Cargo with the assistance of the Qatari authorities.

08 SUNDAY 17 MAY 2020VIEWS

CHAIRMANDR. KHALID BIN THANI AL THANI

EDITOR-IN-CHIEFDR. KHALID BIN MUBARAK AL-SHAFI

editorinchief@pen.com.qa

ACTING MANAGING EDITORMOHAMMED SALIM MOHAMED

m.salim@pen.com.qa

DEPUTY MANAGING EDITORMOHAMMED OSMAN ALI osman@pen.com.qa

EDITORIAL

AS PART of the measures being taken by the gov-ernment to curb the spread of COVID-19 pandemic, the Cabinet passed on Wednesday a decision that made wearing face masks compulsory for all citizens and res-idents upon leaving house for any reason. The enforcement of the decision starts from today (May 17, 2020), and will remain effective until further notice. As the Cabinet continue to issue decisions and reaffirms continuation of the precautionary measures taken to combat the virus, it has also eased lockdown in some areas which was under lockdown such as Industrial Area to control infection.

The a decision compel all citizens and residents to wear the face mask at the time they come out of their houses for any reason, with some exceptional cases such as driving alone. The law effective from today has stipulated severe punishment in case of non-compliance with this decision. The penalties are stipulated in Decree Law No. (17) of 1990 on the prevention of infectious diseases which stated that violator shall be subject to imprisonment for a period not exceeding three years and a fine not exceeding QR (200,000), or one of these two penalties.

The decision also mentioned that the Ministry of Interior takes the necessary measures to enforce the decision; the Ministry yesterday urged people to strictly abide by the cabinet decision which is basically made to ensure safety of the society. Despite earlier precau-tionary measures taken and high quality healthcare, the cases of infections have entered the peak phase, and this is mainly happening due to lack of awareness and non-compliance to the health rules and health advices according to the health authorities.

Taking the situation into account, the MoI paid much attention to the importance of awareness as one of the factors behind the spread of the virus, especially among the expatriate workers in certain areas, and those not com-mitted to social distancing in particular during this Holy month of Ramadan. In order to reach this segment of the society and prepare for the enforcement of the decision, the Ministry launched an aggressive awareness campaign using different languages including Arabic, English, Urdu, Malayalam and other languages.

The Ministry reiterated that adherence to the Cabinet decision and all precautionary measures taken by the government to curb COVID-19 “embodies the concept of joint responsibility and enhances public safety. Therefore everyone must comply with these measures and health instructions including biding “to the quar-antine requirements will enhance public safety and avoids legal accountability”. Negligence or lack of awareness or ignorance of the rules does not forgive any violators from legal accountability.

Face masks compulsory

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Quote of the day

We hope Tokyo Olympics will be a place where

humanity will gather with triumph against COVID. It

is in our hands, but it is not easy. If we do our best,

especially with national unity and global solidarity, I

think it’s possible.

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General

A view of Qatar Fund for Development’s urgent medical aid to Somalia in cooperation with the Amiri Air Force fleet to assist in containing the spread of the coronavirus disease outbreak, at the Aden Abdulle International Airport in Mogadishu, Somalia, yesterday.

It is with gratification and reaffir-mation that we would like to express our feelings of appreciation to all the doctors, nurses, paramedics, medical

staff, and health care workers, and to all the people who directly and indirectly are fighting daily to protect us, making sure that this infectious disease; COVID-19 stops spreading all our world.

In addition, we would also like to thank Heads of State, Ministers and all the leaders and decision makers whom we follow for their wisdom and gift of good people, as well as reliving their inexhaustible energy and courage to protect the people of Qatar during these difficult circumstances, especially, every-thing developed by Qatar, Peru and all the countries that make up the interna-tional community.

Heads of State and Heads of Gov-ernment have all shown an effective way to direct an appropriate strategy in order to overcome this unprecedented difficulty that no one imagined could happen, internally and internationally, where - in this last scenario - a com-petent Qatari diplomacy launched a cooperative action on foreign policy,

considering that the efforts and cooper-ation granted by the State of Qatar is the definition of a truthful and sincere diplomacy, illustrated through a human-itarian generosity. The main instrument of its foreign policy, of which we have been aware of since we took office in Doha, Qatar.

This pandemic has made the world unify. People became stronger, sup-portive and without borders, especially under the guidance of leaders who have made timely and firm decisions, led by professional health and safety teams, among others, in the face of an active and invisible antagonist virus.

Meanwhile, it is worth mentioning that we have successfully coordinated a shipment to Peru, via Doha-Amsterdam, carrying medical equipment and supplies from Shanghai, China through Qatar Airways-Cargo with the assistance of the Qatari authorities. Thus, we would like to thank Qatar local authorities as well as Qatar Airways for facilitating this process.

In the meantime, during my stay in Doha, I had the pleasure to meet with many people from higher authorities from the various sectors. I was impressed by their professionalism as well as their personal quality which

led me to learn more about the history of this great country, Qatar with its legacy of thousands of years; and, its visionary “Leader”, Sheikh Jassim bin Mohammed Al Thani, who left an example of life, as well as those who came after him to forge a great country.

I can positively testify that we will overcome these difficulties and unwanted circumstances that nature has imposed on us, leading us at the same time to protect the environment of the planet. We are sure that we will return to live in a new world, more caring, more responsible and more peaceful; because we know today that a micro-scopic virus can do so much damage, without confronting ourselves - the sapiens - many times with unjustified arguments. As a result, we will keep working to comply with all the provi-sions or precautionary measures dic-tated by the government and the Qatari authorities to ensure and safeguard the safety of its citizens.

In addition, we will also continue in Qatar relating and strengthening our ties of friendship, with our community that also resides in this generous country, while highlighting its development in the sectors of health, education, cooperation, economy, security and investment, as well as media.

The dynamism that comes with the international context, marked by the glo-balization, where countries such as the State of Qatar, constitute important actors on the international table for the good of all, developing a widely appre-ciated leadership.

We reiterate that after solving this global challenge, we will return to those world meetings in Doha, of which we participated in a few months of per-manent showing, both bilaterally and multilaterally, which leads us to rec-ognize the importance of collective action and promote dialogue in favor of peace and democracy, and advance human-centered sustainable devel-opment, good governance, the rule of law, and the protection and promotion of human rights.

In this context, it is worth high-lighting some of the most important meetings and conferences held in Doha before the appearance of the pandemic: The 140th General Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU); Qatar

Information and Communication Tech-nology Conference and Exhibition (QITCOM 2019); World Summit on Innovation for Education (WISE2019); Doha Forum 2019, with the partici-pation of 250 participants from more than 100 countries, including the presi-dents of Rwanda, Armenia and El Sal-vador and others; International Con-ference on Social Media Challenges and Ways to Promote Freedoms and Protect Activitis; and the High Level Meeting of the World Network of Judicial Integrity-UNCAC.

In the ‘Diplomacy of Sports’, Qatar held the following: XVII World Athletics Championship; I World Championship of Beach Games Doha 2019; World Table Tennis Championship; International Olympic Shooting Grand Prix; and FINA/CNSG Marathon Swim Series Doha 2020 in which we have received in Lima a del-egation that participated in the Pan American Championship organized by Peru.

On the Peruvian side, we celebrated our National Anniversary on July 28, the 30th Anniversary of Diplomatic Relations Peru-Qatar; we had the pleasure to receive the Mayor of Lima, Mister Jorge Munoz, who was invited by the Minister of Municipalities of Qatar H E Abdulla bin Abdulaziz bin Turki Al Subaie.

I would like to highlight the intense international activity of the Amir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, with the sole purpose of seeking peace, devel-opment and collaboration between countries and international organiza-tions. The 74th Session of the UN General Assembly, in which H H the Amir met with his counterparts from the different countries; United States, Germany, India and Sudan; the XVIII Summit of Move-ments of Non-Aligned Countries, held in Baku, Azerbaijan.

In addition to the valuable support of the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs H E Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani and other heads of sectors such as Defense, in relation to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the par-ticipation of Qatar in the World Organi-zation of Trade (WTO).

It is also worth mentioning the coop-eration offered by Qatar Charity, standing out for being one of the first organizations, invited by the World Health Organization (WHO) in the current circumstances.

As far as I am concerned, I believe that we will gradually move towards a normality of our activities, necessary for the good of all, with a strengthened, united and more supportive international community, aware of having been living witnesses to a complex pandemic that must never return.

All together we will achieve the desired goal and we will gradually get back to where we left off stronger; understanding that the future will demand a new will to resume and order a better way of life.

We thank Qatar for this experiential coincidence of residing in Doha, in these moments.

Challenging moments strengthen Qatari nation

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JOSÉ A. BENZAQUEN PEREA,AMBASSADOR OF PERU TO QATAR

09SUNDAY 17 MAY 2020 ASIA

HK returnees say quarantine unfairly targets South AfricaBLOOMBERG — HONG KONG

Several Hong Kong residents who returned from South Africa this week lashed out at the government’s decision to put them in quarantine camps, saying the move is unfair given South Africa’s low rate of confirmed COVID-19 cases.

About 10 returnees were sent to a government-run centre after they landed on Thursday and weren’t allowed to self-isolate at home. They are being charged $26 a head per day in an apartment complex with no hot water or fridges, and given food they say is “unedible.”

“I would go as far as to suggest that the ignorance and prejudice in the decision has now resulted in a direct threat to our health and even our lives,” said Colin Embree, a

managing director at NBC Financial Markets Asia Ltd, a unit of National Bank of Canada. He is staying in a camp in the Yuen Long area with his family.

Hong Kong is requiring res-idents returning from South Africa, India and three other countries to remain in these camps for 14 days, arguing that the testing rate per capita in these areas is relatively low.

Residents arriving from coun-tries like the US and the UK, which have many more deaths and confirmed cases, are allowed to isolate at home.

“The government stresses that the quarant ine arrangement targets the risk of infection but not the ethnicity of the returnees,” it said in a statement yesterday. “We will closely monitor the situation locally and overseas, and will review the arrangement as we gain more understanding about the test findings of recent returnees from South Africa.”

When asked about the living conditions, the health department said the quarantine centers are operated in com-pliance with infection control measures.

“Cleaning, disinfection and waste disposal will be carried out in accordance with the

established procedures,” according to the statement.

The authority noted that the number of tests performed is about 6,800 per million pop-ulation in South Africa, com-pared with about 32,000 in both the UK and the US. South Africa has recorded just 247 deaths, well below the more than 87,000 fatalities in the US and 34,000 in the UK, data from Johns Hopkins University show.

The South African consul general in Hong Kong has said the decision is discriminatory and urged the government to remove it from the quarantine list given the country’s success in containing the virus, the South China Morning Post reported.

Other countries on the list include Pakistan, Bangladesh and Nepal. The South African

consulate didn’t return an email seeking comment outside of business hours yesterday.

Embree said his family is under a lot of stress, especially after a seven-week lock down in South Africa. The apartment they’re staying in lacks basic appliances like a fridge and microwave, and is full of dust and mold, he said in a phone interview. He and his family were tested for the virus at the airport and the results were negative.

Other returnees from South Africa share similar frustrations. Delphine Yip-Horsfield, an architect, who came back to Hong Kong on the same flight as the Embree family via Doha, questions the government’s decision.

“Why do returnees from the US, UK and Europe get to do

home quarantines and do not need to go to government quar-antine facilities when, without a doubt, they are clearly the highest risk groups?” Yip-Hors-field said in a text message. “We would gladly accept our fate if the numbers and facts correlate to the policy.”

Hong Kong’s 23-day streak without a case of local corona-virus transmission came to an end last week, reflecting the challenge of eradicating a virus that can spread undetected through carriers with no symptoms.

The case of a 66-year-old woman with no recent travel history dashed hopes that the city had successfully contained the virus after nearly four months of school closures and social distancing measures. The city has recorded just four deaths from the virus.

I would go as far as to suggest that the ignorance and prejudice in the decision has now resulted in a direct threat to our health and even our lives: Colin Embree

Manila malls reopen, discourage lingeringAFP — MANILA

Malls in Manila set air condi-tioners to warm and switched off free WiFi to stop people lingering as many of them cautiously reopened yesterday, after a two-month lockdown that brought the sprawling hubs of community life to a halt.

Just a trickle of customers showed up at the huge com-mercial centres in the Phil-ippine capital, which usually attract millions of people each day and often contain churches, restaurants, gyms and event spaces.

“This is good for me, this is good for our economy,” said Yuki Alvie Merano, 31, among the first in line to enter one mall, joking that shopping was “therapeutic”.

Measures in place to

prevent the spread of the coro-navirus included walk-in booths filled with clouds of dis-infectant, distanced queues, temperature checks and man-datory masks.

Only a selection of shops were allowed to open, including those selling clothing, books and electronics — but salons, cinemas and eat-in restaurants remained closed.

In mid-March a strict lockdown was imposed that did not even allow most of the city’s 12 million residents outdoors for exercise, although short trips to buy food were allowed.

These restrictions on movement were loosened yes-terday to give a boost to an economy battered by the COVID-19 pandemic, which has killed more than 800 people in the Philippines.

While authorities have begun to ease lockdown restric-tions in the capital, confinement measures vary in severity in other parts of the country.

Filipinos have been allowed to return to work at half capacity in many industries, after news that the nation’s economy shrank 0.2 percent in January-March this year — the first contraction in over two decades.

Malls are essential eco-nomic engines but are typically crowded, sparking fears that their opening will cause a spike in infections from the 12,000 currently recorded.

Mall operators said they had turned up the air conditioning by three degrees to 26 Celsius (79 degrees Fahrenheit) to dis-suade people from sticking around too long.

A shopper (left) waits for her turn while another stands inside a disinfection channel installed at the entrance of a shopping mall as a preventive measure against the COVID-19, in Manila, yesterday.

No special favours: New ZealandPM turned away from cafe

AP — WELLINGTON

New Zealand’s leader found out there are no exceptions when it comes to social distancing after she was initially turned away from a cafe because it was too full under coronavirus guidelines.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern (pictured) and her fiance, Clarke Gayford, decided to get brunch yesterday at Olive, a restaurant in the capital, Wellington. That was two days after the country relaxed many of its lockdown rules, including reopening restaurants.

But social distancing rules still apply, requiring groups to remain at least 1 metre apart from each other. Many restau-rants have limited their seating to comply with the rules.

What happened next played out on Twitter:

“Omg Jacinda Ardern just tried to come into Olive and was rejected cause it’s full,” wrote one Twitter user, Joey.

Gayford took the time to respond: “I have to take respon-sibility for this, I didn’t get organised and book anywhere. Was very nice of them to chase us down st (street) when a spot freed up. A+ service.”

Another Twitter user,

Joanne, chimed in: “This has to be the most Kiwi tweet I’ve ever read ... love it, love NZ.”

Asked for comment, a spokesperson from Ardern’s office said in an e-mail that waiting at a cafe is something that anyone can experience during New Zealand’s virus restrictions: “The PM says she just waits like everyone else.”

Ardern has been widely praised for her swift and decisive response to the pan-demic. New Zealand closed its borders and instituted a strict lockdown in March, and has been largely successful in its goal of eliminating the virus.

Health authorities have reported just a single new case over the past five days.

The country has confirmed a total of 1,498 cases, including 21 deaths.

Pakistani doctor indicted in US on terrorism chargeAP — MINNEAPOLIS

A Pakistani doctor and former Mayo Clinic researcher has been indicted on one count of attempting to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organisation after authorities say he told paid FBI informants that he pledged allegiance to the IS militant group and wanted to carry out lone wolf attacks in the US.

The indictment against Muhammad Masood, 28, was announced on Friday by US Attorney Erica MacDonald.

Masood was initially charged by criminal complaint and has been in custody since his March 19 arrest at the Minneapolis-St Paul International Airport.

Prosecutors said Masood was in the US on a work visa. They alleged in court docu-ments that from January to March, Masood made several statements to paid informants — whom he believed were members of the IS group — pledging his allegiance to the group and its leader. He also expressed a desire to travel to Syria to fight for IS and carry out lone wolf attacks in the US, they said.

Masood messaged an informant “there is so much I wanted to do here .. .lon wulf stuff you know ... but I realised I should be on the ground helping brothers sisters kids,” according to an FBI affidavit.

Prosecutors said Masood planned to leave for Amman, Jordan, and go on to Syria at the end of March, but on March 16 he had to change his travel plans because Jordan closed its borders due to the coronavirus

pandemic. Masood and one of the informants then developed a plan for him to fly from Min-neapolis to Los Angeles to meet with that informant, whom Masood believed would help him travel in a cargo ship into IS territory.

Court documents do not name the clinic where Masood worked. The Mayo Clinic has confirmed that Masood for-merly worked at the medical centre, but said he was not employed there when he was arrested. According to an affi-davit supporting the criminal complaint, Masood said in Feb-ruary that he was going to notify his employer that his last day of work would be March 17.

The affidavit said the FBI began investigating in January, after learning that someone, later determined to be Masood, had posted messages on an encrypted social media platform indicating an intent to support IS.

On January 24, Masood contacted one of the informants on the encrypted platform and said he was a medical doctor with a Pakistani passport and wanted to travel to Syria, Iraq or northern Iran near Afghan-istan “to fight on the front line as well as help the wounded brothers,” the affidavit said.

Roughly three dozen Min-nesotans — mostly men from the state’s large Somali com-munity — have left since 2007 to join Al Shabab in Somalia or militant groups in Syria, including the IS group. Several others have been convicted on terrorism-related charges for plotting to join or provide support to those groups.

104-year-old woman from South Korea recovers from virusBLOOMBERG — SEOUL

A South Korean hospital released a 104-year-old woman after her battle against the coronavirus, making her the country’s oldest patient to recover from the disease.

The woman, surnamed Choi, was admitted in March after showing symptoms of COVID-19 and released this week after testing negative twice, the Pohang Medical Center said in a statement on its website. She joins other centenarian survivors of the outbreak, from Singapore and Iceland, as well as a 107-year-old Dutch, all of them women.

Choi would have been born before the 1918 Spanish flu pan-demic that killed as many as 50 million people worldwide.

Crowds at Wuhan clinics fear virus testing could rekindle diseaseREUTERS — WUHAN

As Wuhan, the Chinese city where the COVID-19 pandemic began, revs up a massive testing campaign, some residents crowding the test centres expressed concern yesterday that the very act of getting tested could expose them to the coronavirus.

Safety has become a hot topic on social media groups among the 11 million residents of Wuhan, people said as they converged on open-air test sites at clinics and other facilities. Many said, though, that they support the voluntary campaign.

Wuhan health authorities sprang back into action after confirming last weekend the central Chinese city’s first cluster of new infections since it was released from virtual lockdown on April 8.

The new cases — all of them people who had previously shown no symptoms of the disease — spurred Wuhan authorities to launch a citywide search for asymptomatic car-riers of the virus, aiming to gauge the level of COVID-19 risk.

Although Wuhan’s cinemas and banquet halls remain shut to curb large gatherings, the testing requires people to wait in long, sometimes messy, queues.

“Some people have expressed worry in the (social media) groups about the tests, which require people to cluster, and whether there’s any infection risk,” said one Wuhan resident who asked not to be named. “But others rebutted those worries, saying such com-ments are not supportive of the government.”

The unprecedented scale of testing indicates the official level of concern, some experts say. Others say it is an extremely costly exercise and question its effectiveness.

At a testing kiosk set up at the side of a busy road in Jianghan district in central

Wuhan, a volunteer was patrolling and spraying disin-fectant at a long line of people.

Many people observed social distancing, such as queuing 1 metre apart, and there were signs to remind them. But just as many did not. In some cases, volunteer workers were not insisting that they comply.

At another open-air testing kiosk, where throat swabs were taken, yellow and black stickers on the ground kept people from converging. But at the back of the long queue, about 40 people gathered with no guidance from officials or volunteers.

At a third site, a woman who

had just reached the front of the queue quizzed medical workers on whether they had changed their gloves between each test. When they said they disinfected their gloves but did not switch them, she said she no longer wanted to take the test.

Residents said the author-ities have not told them when they would get the results of their tests.

To cope with the surge in work, more Wuhan hospitals have been asked to set up testing points, and other insti-tutions have been roped in to help process tests, said a doctor involved in the exercise who asked not to be named as he was not authorised to speak to the media.

“We are now working 24 hours a day,” he said. “There is a lot of pressure.”

China has confirmed 82,941 cases of COVID-19 as of Friday and 4,633 deaths. The gov-ernment does not include people found to be asympto-matic carriers of the virus in its tally and does not publish a cumulative number of asymp-tomatic cases.

National Health Com-mission spokesman Mi Feng told reporters 194 asympto-matic carriers were confirmed in the first half of May, down 62 percent from the second half of April.

People wearing face masks wait in line to be tested for the COVID-19 on a street in Wuhan, in China’s central Hubei province, yesterday.

Pakistan-Afghanborder at Torkham,Chaman openedINTERNEWS — ISLAMABAD

The government has announced opening of Pakistan-Afghan border at Torkham and Chaman posts round the clock for six days per week.

The border was closed on March 27 as a precautionary measure to contain spread of COVID-19 virus. Both the borders will remain open 24/7 for six days except from Sat-urday which will be reserved for pedestrian move only.

During six days when the border is open, proper SOPs and guidelines are being implemented.

10 SUNDAY 17 MAY 2020EUROPE

UK firm on phasedreopening of schoolsdespite backlashANATOLIA — LONDON

Headlines in British news-papers yesterday were domi-nated by a row between the government and trade unions over reopening of schools, as health authorities announced 468 new deaths from corona-virus in the UK over the last 24 hours.

The Department of Health tweeted: “As of 9am 16 May, there have been 2,489,563 tests, with 136,486 tests on 15 May. 1,742,028 people have been tested of which 240,161 tested positive.

“As of 5pm on 15 May, of those tested positive for coro-navirus, across all settings, 34,466 have sadly died.”

The government has said it aims to begin a phased reo-pening of schools from June 1, but unions have hit back saying it is still not safe to do so.

Prime Minister Boris John-son’s spokesman said: “Safety comes first, but we must also be aware of the potential damage to a child’s education from not getting them back in the classroom.”

Speaking at the daily press briefing, Education Secretary Gavin Williamson said it had now been eight weeks since schools closed to students, except those whose parents were key workers.

He said there would be “a limited return to school for some pupils” as early as next month, due to the rates of infection falling.

“I know some parents and teachers are anxious,” he said, adding: “There are some that would like to delay — but there is a consequence to that. Children who have not played with another for the last eight weeks.”

“The poorest children are the ones who will fall furthest behind. They will be the ones who will miss out on the opportunities,” he said, and noted: “So we are asking some children to come back.”

Class sizes will be reduced and children kept in small groups to create a “protective, small bubble around them.” Schools will also be “rigorous” regarding hygiene and hand-washing.

He added that this was in line with what other countries were doing.

The National Education Union said: “We want to begin to re-open schools and colleges as soon as we can. But this needs to be safe for society, for children and their families and the staff who work in them.”

Dr Chaand Nagpaul, the chair of the British Medical Association, the UK’s largest doctors’ union, sent a letter to Kevin Courtney, his NEU coun-terpart, backing his stance.

“We cannot risk a second spike or take actions which would increase the spread of this virus, particularly as we

see sustained rates of infection across the UK,”

Nagpaul said. “Until we have got case numbers much lower, we should not consider reopening schools.”

Anne Longfield, the chil-dren’s commissioner for England, said: “I am disap-pointed that the debate about when some primary school kids can return has descended into a squabble between government and the teaching unions. All sides need to show a greater will to work together in the interests of children.”

“We know there are thou-sands of vulnerable children who need to be in school. We know that the longer schools are closed the greater the impact will be on social mobility and that many children are really struggling without seeing their friends and the structure that school brings.

“We cannot afford to wait for a vaccine, which may never arrive, before children are back in school. It’s time to stop squab-bling and agree a staggered, safe return that is accompanied by rigorous testing of teachers,

children and families.” Scotland and Wales have

already ruled out following England’s timetable to reo-pening schools.

The pandemic has claimed nearly 309,000 lives in 188 countries and regions since originating in China last December.

More than 4.57 million cases have been reported worldwide and over 1.65 million people have recovered to date, according to figures compiled by the US’ Johns Hopkins University.

A man is led away by police officers at an anti-coronavirus lockdown demonstration in Hyde Park in London, yesterday, following an easing of lockdown rules in England .

Spain PM to seekone-month extensionof state of emergencyAFP — MADRID

Spain’s government will seek a fresh extension of its state of emergency that will last “about a month” until the transition out of lockdown is completed, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said yesterday.

If such a measure is approved by lawmakers, it would mean the state of emer-gency that is currently set to expire on May 24, would last until late June.

“The Spanish government will ask parliament to approve a new extension of the state of emergency.. it would be the last state of emergency and would continue until the end of the rollback,” Sanchez said in a tel-evised address.

“For that reason.. instead of being a 15-day (extension) it will be for about a month.”

The lockdown was first declared on March 14 to slow the spread of the virus in Spain, which has suffered one of the world’s most deadly outbreaks with 27,000 deaths and more

than 230,000 cases.Sanchez said if Spain had

followed a “herd immunity” strategy — allowing the virus to freely circulate to let the popu-lation develop mass immunity — deaths and infections could have been vastly higher.

“If we had taken this path, the number of people infected could have been more than 30 million. And it could have cost the lives of around 300,000 people,” he said.

Renewed four times, the state of emergency has let the government impose some of the world’s tightest restrictions on Spain’s nearly 47 million pop-ulation, although it has since begun a cautious rollback which is due to finish by late June.

The latest data showed a further fall, with the number of overnight deaths dropping to 102 in what was the lowest figure in two months — and a far cry from the 950 of April 2 when the epidemic peaked.

Since May 11, half of Spain’s population has benefited from an easing of the restrictions,

with cafe terraces reopening and people allowed to meet in groups of up to 10 people.

And by tomorrow, fully three-quarters of the popu-lation will be able to enjoy such freedoms although these measures have not yet been rolled out in the worst-hit areas such as the Madrid region and Barcelona.

The government’s decision to keep Madrid in the so-called preparatory phase zero has pro-voked a backlash from the

regional authorities who have accused the central government of playing politics and even threatened to take legal action.

Despite calls to restart the economy, with particular emphasis on tourism, which accounts for 12 percent of Spain’s GDP, Sanchez defended the government’s cautious approach.

“If we go too fast, and we make a wrong move, we could risk jeopardising the interna-tional credibility that has taken

us decades to build up,” he said.And Sanchez didn’t rule out

a further appeal to the euro-zone’s rescue fund, the European Stability Mechanism (ESM).

“If the Spanish government needs to use this, it will do so, “ he said. The last time Sanchez’s government sought to extend the measure, he faced a wave of opposition from his rightwing opponents who vowed to block the move, although it was ulti-mately passed.

People queue up to get a free food ration, in Madrid, yesterday.

French Riviera

beach reopens

with new rulesREUTERS — NICE

Bathers took a dip in the sea or strolled Nice’s Promenade des Anglais on the French Riviera yesterday, many wearing protective masks, as the beach reopened to the public for the first time since a nationwide coronavirus lockdown in mid-March.

People living in low-infection zones of France, so-called green zones, were able to hit the beach after the gov-ernment began easing restric-tions on Monday. Local officials reopened selected beaches in Northern France and Mediter-ranean coasts yesterday.

But there are new rules: individual activities such as swimming, fishing or surfing are allowed, provided social-distancing is respected, but sunbathing or staying on a beach for hours is not permitted.

“I’m a bit annoyed. We could swim this morning. We could enjoy the sea which we had not seen for nearly two months. Now, we cannot yet sunbathe and lounge. We’re semi-free,” said a local bather sporting a straw hat as he strolled the rather empty pebbly beach.

Interior Minister Christophe Castaner went to Veules-Les- Roses beach in the northern region of Normandy to check on the situation.

“The virus is still around. We must learn to live with it. One can go fishing but not linger on the beach for hours. We are all responsible in the fight against COVID- 19,” he said.

“If the rules are not respected, we will reverse our decisions (to open some beaches),” he warned.

The easing of France’s eight-week lockdown, one of the strictest in Europe, started on May 11, allowing non-essential shops, factories and other businesses to re-open.

Income key factor in coronavirus cases, says researchAFP — PARIS

People living in the most deprived areas of Britain are more than four times likelier to test positive for COVID-19 than those living in the richest neighbourhoods, new research showed yesterday.

A University of Oxford study looked at more than 3,600 COVID-19 test results from national programmes and found that deprivation, age and chronic liver disease all increased the likelihood of testing positive.

Of that sample, the more than 660 people living in the most deprived areas, 29.5 percent tested positive, compared with just 7.7 percent of those in richer areas, the study showed.

Those aged 40-64 were at the highest risk, with 18.5 percent of that age group testing positive compared to just 4.6 percent of under 17s.

A greater percentage of men (18.4 percent) tested positive than women (13.3 percent).

And people of black ethnicity

were more than four times likelier to test positive than those of white ethnicity -- 62.1 percent vs 15.5 percent.

The authors, however, cau-tioned that the cohort of black people tested in the study was small —only 58 people.

“With each day that passes our knowledge of COVID-19 improves,” said Gayatri Amirth-alingam, from Public Health England and co-author of the study printed in The Lancet.

“This analysis of primary care

outcomes of individuals testing positive for virus is an important contribution to our wider under-standing of how COVID-19 is affecting people of different demographic groups.” The study has a number of limitations as it relies only on test results from routine testing programmes, which may skew the demo-graphics of people included in the research.

Nevertheless, lower income appeared to be a significant COVID-19 risk factor.

“We found an association between increasing deprivation and increased odds of a positive test, independent of household size, urban location, and smoking,” the authors said.

The results showed current smokers were in fact less likely to test positive than non-smokers (11.4 percent vs 17.9 percent).

But that does not mean smoking protects an individual from COVID-19.

For one thing, smokers are more likely to cough -- a key

symptom of the novel corona-virus -- and therefore may be more likely to get tested even when not sick.

It is also possible that smoking affects the efficacy of current COVID-19 swab tests.

“As well as the well-docu-mented harms to overall health from smoking, there is potential for smoking to increase the severity of COVID-19 disease,” said Simon de Lusignan, director of the Royal College of GPs Sur-veillance Centre.

Education Secretary Gavin Williamson said there would be “a limited return to school for some pupils” as early as next month, due to the rates of infection falling.

Europe sees multiple cases of COVID-19-linked syndrome in childrenREUTERS — LONDON

A new life-threatening inflam-matory syndrome associated with COVID-19 has affected 230 children in Europe and killed two so far this year, a regional health body said on Friday, as medics worldwide were told to be on alert.

The Swedish-based European Centre for Disease Pre-vention and Control (ECDC) said in a risk report that two children had succumbed to the condition: one in Britain and one in France.

The new coronavirus has so far taken its greatest toll on the

elderly and those with chronic health conditions, but reports about the syndrome in children have raised fears it could pose a greater risk to the young than first through. At a briefing in Geneva, the World Health Organisation (WHO) urged clinicians to be alert to the rare syndrome, but cau-tioned that links to COVID-19 were still unclear.

The condition, known as paediatric inflammatory mult-isystem syndrome (PIMS), shares symptoms with toxic shock and Kawasaki disease including fever, rashes, swollen glands and, in severe cases,

heart inflammation.“I call on all clinicians

worldwide to work with your national authorities and WHO to be alert and better understand this syndrome in children,” said WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

On Friday, the WHO issued a preliminary definition of the syndrome, which it said had become more frequent during the current pandemic but has also appeared in children who did not test positive for COVID-19. The condition affected children and adolescents showing fever for more than

three days, with elevated markers of inflammation.

The children also showed at least two of the following symptoms: rash or signs of inflammation around the mouth, hands or feet; shock or low blood pressure; heart problems; evi-dence of bleeding disorder; and acute gastrointestinal problems.

The case definition pertained to children who had contracted COVID-19 or had had likely contact with COVID-19 patients, and had no other obvious microbial cause of inflammation, it said.

“We know so far very little

about this inflammatory syn-drome,” said WHO epidemiol-ogist Maria Van Kerkhove.

In France, doctors said a nine-year old boy died a week ago in the southern town of Mar-seille after developing a syn-drome akin to Kawasaki disease and being in contact with the coronavirus though not suffering its symptoms. He was hospi-talised on May 2 after scarlet fever had been diagnosed. Back home, he suffered from a severe heart ailment and was rushed back to Marseille’s Timone hos-pital’s intensive care unit, where he died.

11SUNDAY 17 MAY 2020 EUROPE / AMERICAS

Curbs to be eased in Budapest from tomorrowREUTERS — BUDAPEST

Hungary will start lifting coro-navirus restrictions in Budapest from tomorrow, though resi-dents returning to shops or travelling on public transport will have to wear face masks, officials said yesterday.

Two weeks after easing the lockdown in other parts of the country, Prime Minister Viktor Orban said authorities had suc-ceeded in controlling the spread of COVID-19 in the capital too.

“It has become clear that we’ve managed to curb the epi-demic in Budapest as well,” he said in a video on his official Facebook page.

“Therefore, we can shift to the second phase of defence in Budapest as well, cautiously... and thus we lift the lockdown.” From May 4, the government lifted some restrictions outside Budapest and its outskirts, allowing shops and restaurant terraces to reopen.

Orban’s chief of staff Gergely Gulyas said on state tel-evision that it was now time to

gradually open up Budapest as the number of infected people has substantially declined, adding that the government had consulted first with medical experts.

He said restaurants and cafes would be able to reopen their terraces from tomorrow. All shops will also be allowed to open, but a special three-hour window will be

maintained for the over-65s to do their grocery and pharmacy shopping.

Wearing a mask in shops and on public transport will be mandatory and social dis-tancing must be maintained.

Public parks, the city zoo, swimming pools and baths will also be able to operate as usual from tomorrow while wedding parties with less than 200 par-ticipants will be permitted in Budapest from mid-June.

Despite the significant relaxing of the lockdown, schools will remain closed at least until the end of May nationwide. A phased reopening is the government’s strategy to

head off deeper and more lasting harm to the economy, which is expected to shrink by about 4% this year based on a Reuters survey. The central European country of 10 million people imposed a nationwide lockdown in March.

Some key sectors including tourism ground to a virtual standstill, and car makers’ tem-porarily halted production in March and April.

As of yesterday, Hungary had reported 448 deaths among a total of 3,473 cases of COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus. Some 1,655 of the infections were in Budapest.

Slovenia calls an end toepidemic but anti-govt protests continueREUTERS — LJUBLJANA

Thousands of cyclists took over the centre of Ljubljana once again on Friday to protest against Slovenia’s centre-right government of Prime Minister Janez Jansa, less than a day after the government called an end to the coronavirus epidemic, while loosening restrictions.

Protesters blew whistles and honked bicycle horns as they waved Slovenian flags in the capital city. Many wore face masks. They claimed the gov-ernment is clamping down on civil rights by attacking the media and limiting the rights of environmental groups. Some called for the government to resign.

Among other changes, the government is pushing for legal amendments that will limit the rights environmental nonprofits in participating in the adminis-trative review of infrastructure projects.

The government claims the change is necessary to speed up Slovenia’s economic devel-opment, saying present legis-lation enables even small envi-ronmental organisations to

significantly slow down important construction, like the building of factories or power plants.

“I am here because the gov-ernment disgustingly abused the coronavirus crisis to reduce peo-ple’s rights and freedoms,” envi-ronmentalist Rok Rozman, who was among protesters, told Reuters. Protests have taken place every week since last month when the national TV Slovenia reported government officials unlawfully favored some companies while pur-chasing face masks and venti-lators. The government denies any wrongdoing.

Police said packed protests should not be held due to the coronavirus restrictions.

Slovenia has so far reported 1,465 coronavirus cases and 103 deaths. It is the first European country to call an official end to its coronavirus epidemic.

Although many restrictions that have been imposed in the middle of March have been lifted, people are still obliged to wear masks in indoor public spaces, disinfect their hands upon entering such spaces, stand at least 1.5 meters apart and are

prohibited from gathering in groups of more than 50 people.

All shops, bars and restau-rants will be allowed to open starting Monday, while some students will also return to school next week. Most shops, apart from food and drug stores, and all schools have been closed since the middle of March.

Many of Friday’s protesters also fear that the government will reduce media freedom as Jansa has over the past weeks called several journalists “liars”

on his Twitter account. He is known for calling two female TV journalists “prostitutes” back in 2016 when he was the leader of the opposition. The govern-ment’s communication office has recently linked Slovenian media to the previous com-munist regime, causing public uproar.

In a Monday statement, Jansa said he supports more media competition, which is a “precondition to democratic social order,” suggesting most

media is biased against his gov-ernment. He also said that the protests violate legislation on infectious diseases, which obliges people to keep a distance from one another.

The police, which fenced off the government and the par-liament buildings in the centre of the capital, was unable to immediately give an estimate of the number of protesters. Smaller protests were held in other cities. No violence has been reported so far.

Citizens gather with their bicycles outside the Slovenian National Assembly building in Ljubljana, yesterday, during a demonstration to protest against the centre-right government.

Slovakia lifts

quarantine on last

Roma settlement

REUTERS — BRATISLAVA

Slovakia lifted a quarantine on the last of five Roma settle-ments that were closed off in April to contain the spread of the new coronavirus, a member of the European Parliament and the country’s permanent crisis committee said.

“I would like to thank you for enduring this and for being patient and responsible. Stay careful,” Peter Pollak, who is himself a Roma, told inhab-itants at the settlement in a Facebook video posted on Friday.

Residents of the Zehra set-tlement in the country’s east were quarantined for 37 days. The quarantine was lifted on Friday, Pollak said.

The crisis committee decided to lift the quarantine after testing all inhabitants and moving 16 infected people and their families to a temporary quarantine centre, which was already housing 26 infected people and their relatives.

Quarantines in one set-tlement ended on April 25 and in another three on May 1.

Roma communities across eastern Europe are impover-ished, plagued by high unem-ployment and historically the target of discrimination, making the coronavirus out-break another challenge for the ethnic minority.

Montenegro frees

priests arrested

for violating curbs

AFP — PODGORICA

Montenegro released a Serbian Orthodox bishop and seven priests yesterday days after they were held for violating coronavirus lockdown measures by organising a procession.

Their detention on Wednesday sparked protests throughout the tiny Balkan nation, ending in clashes in two towns with more than 50 pro-testers arrested and 26 police officers slightly injured.

Police in Nikisc fired tear gas to disperse a crowd that was throwing stones and bottles.

“Your support is the con-tinuation of our fight for our sacred things,” Niksic bishop Joanikije told the crowd waiting for his release in front of the local police station.

The crowd chanted “We don’t give up our sacred things!” and “We don’t give up on you Bishop!” Several thousand people took part in the pro-cession held on Tuesday evening in Niksic, after which the eight priests were detained.

Colombia to work together with Brazil to fight virus on borderREUTERS — BOGOTA

Colombia will work with hard-hit Brazil to increase the military presence along their Amazonian border and share information in an effort to fight an increasing number of coro-navirus cases in the area, Colombian President Ivan Duque said on Friday.

The series of measures was agreed during a virtual meeting between Colombia’s health, defense and foreign ministers and Brazilian officials, Duque said.

He made no reference to the resignation on Friday of Bra-zil’s health minister, whose predecessor was fired last month. Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro has been widely crit-icised for shrugging off the severity of the pandemic, telling Brazilians to ignore quarantine restrictions and pushing for the states to re-open their economies.

Brazil’s Amazonas state said in April its health system was overwhelmed by the pandemic, with all available intensive care beds and ventilators occupied.

State capital Manaus, a city of 2 million people located in the heart of Brazil’s Amazon, has been hit particularly hard by the virus, with mass burials needed to keep up with soaring deaths.

Across the border, Colom-bia’s identically named Ama-zonas province - one of its most sparsely populated with just 66,000 inhabitants — has around 1,000 reported cases of coronavirus and at least 30 deaths. Colombia has already put in strict quarantine measures in the province,

requiring people there to stay home even as it allows some industries to return to work in other parts of the country.

“We had already strengthened military presence on the border in Amazonas province, now the authorities in Brazil are going to join that effort to have controls and special supervision above all of informal crossings,” Duque said during his nightly television broadcast.

The two countries have established daily communi-cation protocols and a system

for coordinating with local authorities along the border, Duque added.

Overall Brazil has registered 218,223 confirmed coronavirus cases and 14,817 deaths.

The country confirmed 15,305 new cases on Friday, a record for a 24-hour period, as well as 824 related deaths, according to data from its health ministry.

Colombia has more than 14,200 cases and more than 540 deaths. It began a nationwide lockdown in late March which is set to end on May 25.

Greeks return to beaches in heatwave, but keep their umbrellas apartREUTERS — ATHENS

Greeks flocked to the seaside yesterday when more than 500 beaches reopened, as the country sought to walk the fine line between protecting people from COVID-19 while reviving the tourism sector that many depend on for their livelihoods.

For many people, it was their first foray into a big public venue since Greece began easing its lockdown earlier this month, and it also coincided with the first heatwave of the year.

Sun-seekers were required to respect distancing rules, which even stipulated how far umbrellas must be kept apart.

No more than 40 people were allowed per 1,000 square metres, while umbrella poles had to be four metres apart, with canopies no closer than one metre, according to a gov-ernment-issued manual, com-plete with diagram.

At Alimos, a popular beach just south of Athens, people queued up from early morning

to nab their spot in the sunshine.

“This is the best thing for us elderly... to come and relax a bit after being locked in,” said Yannis Tentomas, who is his 70s, as he settled down under an umbrella.

He said he was complying with distancing rules, adding: “It’s like a gun to the head.” At a neighbouring beach a drone buzzed over sun-loungers with loudspeakers urging people to keep safe distances from each other.

The lifting of the lockdown comes as countries around Europe and the world look to ease restrictions imposed to curb the pandemic, and res-urrect their economies.

Greece has reported a fraction of the COVID-19 cases of neighbouring countries - more than 2,800 infections with 160 deaths.

From May 4, it began a phased-in easing of the lockdown that had been in place since mid-March.

The country of 11 million

people is one of the most dependent in Europe on tourism, which generates about a fifth of its economic output.

Following the reopening of Greek beaches, people will be permitted to attend Church Mass from May 17, while archaeological sites, including the Acropolis, will reopen for visitors on May 18.

From tomorrow, travel

across mainland Greece and to Crete will be allowed, and from May 25 to the islands.

“This is a crucial turning point in our efforts and we must succeed,” said Nikos Hardalias, Greece’s civil protection minister.

Tourism officials say they hope to welcome back foreign holidaymakers in July.

Greece’s lockdown, plus the

shutdown of much of the world, and most air travel, is likely to have a profound effect on a country only just starting to recover from a decade of financial turmoil and austerity.

Authorities expect anything between a 5 percent and 10 percent decline in economic output this year, before recov-ering in 2021.

People are seen at at a street amid the coronavirus epidemic, in Athens.

Virus infects 38

indigenous

groups in Brazil

AFP — SAO PAULO

The coronavirus pandemic has hit 38 indigenous groups in Brazil, raising fears for popula-tions that have a history of being decimated by outside diseases, the Brazilian Indigenous Peoples’ Association (APIB) said on Friday.

“The virus is reaching indig-enous territories across Brazil with frightening speed,” the association said in a statement.

An APIB survey found 446 cases of the new coronavirus and 92 deaths among the affected groups, mainly in the Brazilian Amazon.

The grim news came a day after the indigenous community of Parque das Tribos, outside the northern city of Manaus, held a funeral for its chief, Messias Kokama, who died of COVID-19.

Kokama, who was 53, was buried in a closed casket wrapped in plastic to avoid spreading the virus.

Brazil, the Latin American country hit hardest in the pan-demic, has seen its death toll spiral. It has registered nearly 15,000 deaths and 220,000 cases so far, though experts say the real figures could be 15 times higher or more.

Two weeks after easing the lockdown in other parts of the country, Prime Minister Viktor Orban said authorities had succeeded in controlling the spread of COVID-19 in the capital too.

12 SUNDAY 17 MAY 2020AMERICAS

Trump ousts watchdog probing PompeoAFP — WASHINGTON

US President Donald Trump’s move to fire a government watchdog reportedly investi-gating Secretary of State Mike Pompeo amounted to a poten-tially illegal act of retribution, according to senior Democrats leading an angry backlash yesterday.

Trump notified House of Representatives speaker Nancy Pelosi on Friday that he planned to dismiss State Department Inspector General Steve Linick.

It was his third abrupt dis-missal of an official tasked with monitoring governmental wrongdoing since April.

Democrats denounced it as part of what they said was a trou-bling pattern of the president undermining the traditionally independent watchdogs.

Eliot Engel, who heads the House Foreign Affairs Com-mittee, said he had learned that Linick had opened an investi-gation into Pompeo.

“Mr Linick’s firing amid such a probe strongly suggests that this is an unlawful act of retaliation,” the congressman said in a statement.

A Democratic congressional aide, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Linick was probing complaints that Pompeo misused a political appointee to perform personal tasks for himself and his wife, Susan Pompeo.

CNN, citing a senior State Department official, reported that it was Pompeo himself who had recommended the firing and who hand-picked Stephen Akard, a former aide to Vice President Mike Pence, to succeed Linick.

By law, the administration must give Congress 30 days’ notice of its plans to formally ter-minate an inspector general, in theory giving lawmakers time to study and potentially protest the move.

But previous such firings have gone through unimpeded, and inspectors general previously dismissed have been replaced by political allies of the president.

Pompeo, Washington’s top diplomat, has raised eyebrows for frequently travelling the

world on his government plane with his wife, who has no official role. CNN reported last year that a whistleblower had complained that the Bureau of Diplomatic Security, which guards US mis-sions overseas as well as the sec-retary of state, had been assigned questionable tasks for the Pompeos, such as picking up takeout food or tending to the family dog.

The State Department con-firmed Linick’s firing but did not

comment on the reason or on whether Pompeo was under investigation.

A State Department spokes-person also confirmed that the new inspector general would be Akard, an attorney who served as a foreign affairs advisor to Pence when the latter was gov-ernor of Indiana. Akard since last year has led the State Depart-ment’s Office of Foreign Missions, which handles relations with dip-lomats in the United States.

Pelosi said Linick was “pun-ished for honourably performing his duty to protect the Consti-tution and our national security.”

“The president must cease his pattern of reprisal and retaliation against the public servants who are working to keep Americans safe, particularly during this time of global emergency,” she said.

Pompeo is one of Trump’s most trusted aides — and a rare one never to come publicly into the crosshairs of the mercurial

president. In recent months Pompeo, 56, has moved US foreign policy forcefully to the right — encouraging a drone strike that killed a top Iranian general and promoting a theory, discounted by mainstream sci-entists, that the COVID-19 pan-demic originated in a Chinese laboratory.

Linick, a longtime prosecutor, was appointed in 2013 by Trump’s predecessor Barack Obama to oversee the $70 bn jug-gernaut of US diplomacy.

He played a small role in Trump’s impeachment saga last year, handing to Congress docu-ments by Trump’s lawyer Rudy Giuliani with unproven claims about Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden and Marie Yovanovitch, whom Trump removed as the US ambassador to Ukraine. Trump repeated the charges to Ukraine’s president and pressed him to dig up dirt, with his administration freezing military aid to the ally which is battling Russian-backed separa-tists. Since his acquittal by the Senate, Trump has fumed against a “Deep State” he sees as out to get him.

He has removed or demoted inspectors general for the Pen-tagon, the intelligence com-munity and the Department of Health and Human Services, as well as a senior health official who questioned Trump’s pro-motion of unproven drug ther-apies for COVID-19.

US President Donald Trump gives a thumbs up as he poses with a nurse who is currently working in New York City during the coronavirus pandemic at an event, in Washington, DC, on Friday.

Burr submits final report on Russia probe before stepping down as Senate panel chairman AP — WASHINGTON

Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Richard Burr on Friday submitted the final report in the panel’s three-year Russia investigation to the intelligence community for a declassification review.

The move came hours before he was to temporarily step aside as chairman of the panel.

The report on the panel’s counterintelligence findings — including whether President Donald Trump’s campaign coor-dinated with Russia — marks the conclusion of its Russia probe, which it first launched in January 2017. But the panel did not immediately release any of the findings and instead asked the intelligence community to quickly allow the release of a declassified version of the report.

Burr said on Thursday that he would temporarily give up his chairmanship after federal agents examining his recent stock sales showed up at his home on Wednesday with a warrant to search his cellphone. Friday was his last day in the position.

The Justice Department is investigating whether Burr exploited advance information when he unloaded as much as $1.7m in stocks in February, days before the coronavirus pandemic caused markets to plummet. Burr has denied any wrongdoing.

The final submission brought an unceremonious end to the yearslong investigation that occasionally landed Burr, a North Carolina Republican, in trouble with his own party. It had been the final known investigation of Trump’s 2016 campaign and

Russia that was still active.Burr worked closely with the

top Democrat on the panel, Vir-ginia Senator Mark Warner, on a bipartisan basis to uncover Russia’s attempts to sow chaos in American elections. The com-mittee had particular success in pushing social media companies to publicly reveal that Russia had used their platforms for misin-formation and to make subse-quent reforms to prevent such interference in the future.

Committee members have remained quiet on the panel’s conclusion on whether Trump’s campaign coordinated with Russia. But Burr has said several times that he has seen no evi-dence of such collusion, a con-clusion that would be in line with the House Intelligence Commit-tee’s own Russia report in 2018.

It is unclear if the panel’s Democrats would endorse such a determination, even though the first four reports from the Senate committee were bipartisan.

Former special counsel Robert Mueller also investigated whether the Trump campaign coordinated with Russia. Muel-ler’s report, released in April 2019, identified substantial con-tacts between Trump associates and Russia but did not allege a criminal conspiracy between his campaign and the Kremlin.

Mueller also examined about a dozen possible instances of obstruction of justice and said he could not exonerate the pres-ident on that point.

The Senate panel also sent its other four reports to the intel-ligence community for declassi-fication and in some cases waited years for a response. In the other cases, however, the panel released its general findings first.

Trump considers restoring some funding to WHOREUTERS — WASHINGTON

US President Donald Trump said yesterday his adminis-tration was considering numerous proposals about the World Health Organisation, including one in which Wash-ington would pay about 10 percent of its former level.

In a posting on Twitter, Trump underscored that no final decision had been made

and that US funding for the global health agency remained frozen.

Trump suspended US con-tributions to the WHO on April 14, accusing it of promoting China’s “disinformation” about the coronavirus outbreak and saying his administration would launch a review of the organization. WHO officials denied the claims and China has insisted it was transparent

and open. Fox News, citing a draft letter, reported late on Friday that Trump was poised to restore partial funding to the WHO, matching China’s assessed contribution.

The United States was the WHO’s biggest donor.

If the United States matches China’s contribution, as the Fox report indicated, its new funding level will be about one-tenth its previous funding

amount of about $400 million per year.

Responding to criticism about resuming payments, Trump said, “This is just one of numerous concepts being considered under which we would pay 10 percent of what we have been paying over many years, matching much lower China payments. Have not made final decision. All funds are frozen.”

New COVID-19 cases in NY coming from people leaving home: CuomoREUTERS — NEW YORK

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said yesterday the state’s new confirmed COVID-19 cases are predominantly coming from people who left their homes to shop, exercise or socialise, rather than from essential workers.

“That person got infected and went to the hospital or that person got infected and went home and infected the other people at home,” Cuomo said during his daily news conference on the coronavirus outbreak.

State data showed the number of new cases statewide has fluctuated between 2,100 and 2,500 per day. Yesterday, the number of new cases decreased to 2,419, from 2,762 on Friday.

Cuomo said while last week he had the-orized that new cases were coming from essential workers, “that was exactly wrong.

“The infection rate among essential workers is lower than the general population and those new cases are coming predomi-nantly from people who are not working and they are at home,” he said.

The state’s budget director, Robert Mujica, said officials expect to “learn a lot more” about the genesis of new cases from contact tracing over the next week.

Cuomo has said that New York was hiring thousands of workers to trace the contacts of people who test positive for the coronavirus. Health experts say contact tracing is critical to isolating potentially contagious people in

order to limit further outbreaks.Cuomo said the five regions of the state

that were allowed on Friday to reopen for business — out of 10 total regions — were required to have a certain number of tracers proportionate to their populations.

“The tracing operation is tremendously large and challenging,” he said.

New York state, home to both bustling Manhattan and hilly woods and farmland that stretch hundreds of miles north to the Canadian border, has been the global epi-centre of the pandemic, but rural areas have not been nearly as badly affected as New York City, the country’s biggest city at roughly 8.4 million people.

Driven by the impact in New York City,

the state has accounted for more than one-third of the nearly 80,000 American who have died from COVID-19, the illness caused by the coronavirus, according to a Reuters tally. Statewide, the outbreak is ebbing, with coronavirus hospitalisations falling to 6,220, more than a third of the level at the peak one month ago, state data showed.

In the five regions where restrictions were eased on Friday, in central and upstate New York, construction and manufacturing work was allowed to resume, and retail businesses offering curbside pickup or in-store pickup for orders placed ahead were allowed to reopen. A broader pause on activity in New York City and elsewhere was extended until at least May 28.

New York City Mayor Bill De Blasio gives away facemasks to a man in the Queens borough of New York City, yesterday.

Mexico moves toward restarting economy; infections soarAP — MEXICO CITY

As Mexico moves toward a gradual reactivation of its economy tomorrow, the number of new coronavirus infections grows higher every day, raising fears of a new wave of infections that other countries have seen after loosening restrictions.

President Andrés Manuel López Obrador is straddling the issue, telling the public that the fight against the virus depends on continued social distancing in many places while describing how other areas will begin to

return to work Monday.“We’re at the point where we

begin to have fewer cases,” López Obrador said Friday.

“But in these days we have to be more careful, not relax the discipline, don’t trust ourselves.”

The comments came on the same day the government clar-ified guidelines for the con-struction, mining and auto-motive industries to return to work tomorrow. The next two weeks will serve as a period to formalise their protocols to keep workers safe, but if they do so

and get approval they can open any time before June 1. There were 2,437 new coronavirus test confirmations on Friday, the highest daily total yet and the second straight day with over 2,000 new cases. There were 2,409 on Thursday.

The numbers suggest the pandemic has not yet peaked in Mexico, while the daily number of deaths rose by 290, below the one-day peak of 353 deaths reported on Tuesday. Mexico has seen a total of 4,767 deaths so far.

“We are at the moment of the fastest growth in new cases,” said

Assistant Health Secretary Hugo López-Gatell.

“This is the most difficult moment.” Health officials have said the real number of infections is far higher. Mexico has a lower rate of testing for the virus than any of the world’s largest econ-omies, according to the Organi-sation for Economic Cooperation and Development.

The country’s lockdown — which began in March — will remain in place, but those par-ticular industries will be allowed to resume because Mexico’s top advisory body on the pandemic,

the General Health Council, said on Tuesday it had decided to classify them as “essential activities.”

There were signs that hos-pital capacity was nearing its limit Mexico City, the hardest-hit area. The Health Department reported that 73 percent of the city’s general care hospital beds were full; the percentage was lower for intensive-care beds, but that was partly because of the expansion of improvised ICU units at hospitals and other venues.

On Friday, about 2,000

ventilators purchased by private companies and donated to Mexican hospitals arrived aboard a flight from Chicago, Illinois. The machines are made by Royal Philips, a Dutch company with plants in the US, and were acquired by major Mexican companies.

There is concern in the medical community that talk of relaxing social distancing measures is coming too soon and could lead to a devastating second wave of infections as resources dwindle and medical personnel are running on fumes.

Trump notified House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Friday that he planned to dismiss State Department Inspector General Steve Linick. It was his third abrupt dismissal of an official tasked with monitoring governmental wrongdoing since April.