Author: News Desk

The Dubai Health Authority (DHA) has joined TikTok to launch the #ThankYouHeroes challenge. The challenge provides a platform for the TikTok UAE community to express their appreciation for the hard work and dedication shown by the country’s first line of defenders against COVID-19. Commenting on the #ThankYouHeroes challenge, Abdullah Jumaa, Director of the Corporate Communications and Marketing Department at the Dubai Health Authority said: “We have been taking proactive and comprehensive measures with our teams across the UAE to protect the community from COVID-19. Our #ThankYouHeroes campaign with TikTok aims to continue raising awareness of the virus and on the…

The Dubai government has extended the closure of commercial activities until April 18. Dubai Economy tweeted: “In line with the preventive measures against the spread of COVID-19 Dubai Economy extends the circular on the closure of commercial activities until the end of the National Disinfection Programme on the 18th of April 2020. The exempted sectors will operate as usual.” On April 4, the Dubai government had announced that the National Sterilisation Programme would be extended to 24 hours a day across all areas and communities in the emirate for two weeks subject to renewal.

The UN Security Council will hold a session on the novel coronavirus on Thursday, marking their first meeting on how the pandemic could affect international security. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres will brief the 15 members in a closed-door virtual meeting, the council’s current president, the Dominican Republic, announced on Monday evening, Deutsche press agency (DPA) reported. UN chief Guterres, who has described the pandemic as the greatest challenge since World War II, recently expressed his displeasure at the slow pace of global action. Sources told DPA the five permanent council members – the US, China, Russia, Britain, and France -…

An Indian retail group has asked a court to allow the restart of an antitrust investigation into Amazon.com Inc and a Walmart unit that is on hold following a legal challenge by the companies, a court filing seen by Reuters showed. Amazon and Walmart’s unit Flipkart did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Tuesday. The appeal will likely be heard later this month at a time when both Amazon and Flipkart are battling slowing sales and logistical challenges during India’s lockdown to tackle the coronavirus which has resulted in supply chain disruptions. The Competition Commission of India…

Electronics giant Samsung expects to increase its profits for the first quarter of 2020, largely due to a steady demand for memory chips amid the novel coronavirus pandemic. Profits from its core businesses will increase by 2.7 percent year-on-year to 6.4 trillion won (5.31 billion dollars), the South Korean company announced on Tuesday in its quarterly earnings outlook, Deutsche press agency (DPA) reported. The figures were slightly above market expectations. Samsung expects sales to increase by 5 percent to 55 trillion won. The group said it will present more detailed figures at a later date. Observers in South Korea have predicted Samsung…

The pandemic, which has killed more than 70,000 people worldwide, has been accompanied by what the World Health Organization (WHO) has called an “infodemic” of misinformation, prompting governments and other authorities to urge social media companies to do more to combat the problem. Facebook Inc’s WhatsApp tightened message forwarding limits on Tuesday, restricting users to sharing forwarded content one chat at a time after a jump in messages touting bogus medical advice since the start of the coronavirus crisis. “We believe it’s important to slow the spread of these messages down to keep WhatsApp a place for personal conversation,” the…

France’s coronavirus figures on Monday showed that the rate of increase in fatalities – at almost 9,000 – sped up again after several days of slowing reported Reuters. France has not yet reached the peak of its COVID-19 epidemic, Health Minister Olivier Veran said on Tuesday. “We are still in a worsening phase of the epidemic,” Veran told broadcaster BFM TV. He also said that the country’s lockdown would last as long as necessary.

Bahrain has so far evacuated over 1200 citizens from overseas countries due to the outbreak of novel coronavirus (COVID19) pandemic reported Bahrain News Agency. Foreign Ministry Undersecretary Dr. Shaikha Rana bint Isa bin Daij Al-Khalifa released the update number of returnees as she was hosted by the “Be Aware” programme on Bahrain TV channel. The Government had announced details of the contingency evacuation plan over Bahraini citizens abroad during a meeting which was held with the Council of Representatives on the 29th of March. She stressed Bahrain’s success in managing the crisis competently and taking adequate precautionary measures to combat…

The Ministry of Health (MOH) confirmed that the youngest patient infected with COVID-19 in Oman, an 18-month-old baby, has recovered and discharged from the Royal Hospital. The infant patient, who caught the disease from one of his parents, was admitted to the hospital’s Pediatric Ward suffering from rapid breathing and mild cough. He was under a two-day observation for investigation, scan, and administering the required medical care. The baby is now in good health condition after being discharged from the hospital. MOH emphasizes that maximum caution must be exercised so as not to compromise the health of children and the…

China reported no new coronavirus deaths in the past day, for the first time since January 19, as the city of Wuhan prepared to lift its last lockdown measures. There were also no new locally transmitted infections in Hubei province, home to Wuhan, and across China, the National Health Commission said. Authorities reported 32 new coronavirus cases among citizens returning from abroad. The commission said that 30 new cases of asymptomatic infections were being monitored, with a total of 1,033 such cases under medical observation.