Author: News Desk

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte today approved the extension of lockdown and home quarantine measures covering more than half of the population, a crisis panel official said, in an effort to contain the spread of the coronavirus. The Enhanced Community Quarantine was due to end next week but would be extended until April 30. Policies restricting movement and gatherings have been in place in and around the capital Manila since nearly a month ago, in response to confirmation of the first domestic transmission. The Philippines was among the first countries to adopt strict home quarantine measures.

India’s 21-day lockdown is set to end next week but several state leaders have called for an extension or only a partial lifting of restrictions, saying is the only way to avoid a coronavirus epidemic that will be difficult to tackle. India has so far escaped a big surge in cases after Prime Minister Narendra Modi asked its 1.3 billion people to stay indoors in the world’s biggest lockdown last month that authorities have enforced tightly. But shuttering down the $2.9 trillion economy has left millions of people without work and forced those who live on daily wages to flee…

The Indian Community Relief Fund (ICRF) has started distribution of ICRF Support Kit, which includes basic commodities such as rice, dal lentils, green mung lentils, chilly powder, coriander powder, wheat, salt, tea powder, cooking oil, black chena lentil, sugar, eggs, milk powder, etc., due to the current COVID-19 conditions. A special team selected from various states of India will forefront and address the needy from Indian community. The team is headed by Adv. V K Thomas as Convenor and Pankaj Malik, Zulfikar Ali, Nasser Manjeri, J S Gill, Satyendra Kumar, Clifford Correa and Shivakumar D.V as members, to facilitate such requests…

Kuwait announced two new coronavirus recoveries on Tuesday, a two-year-old boy and a 72-year-old man, bringing the total to 105, according to the minister of health. The boy is an expatriate in the country and the man is a Kuwaiti national, Dr. Basel al-Sabah said in a tweet. A total of 665 cases were confirmed in Kuwait as of Monday and only one death. Kuwait health ministry said 20 people out of 561 active cases are in the intensive care unit (ICU). Several measures have been implemented over the past few weeks to help slow the spread of the new…

The Ministry of Health (MOH) announced the registration of 40 new cases of coronavirus in Oman. This brings the total number of coronavirus cases in Oman to 371), in addition to two death cases. The Ministry also pointed out that 67 cases have recovered. The Ministry advises citizens and residents to keep on washing hands with water and soap, as well as avoiding touching the face, nose, mouth, and eyes and following the healthy habits when coughing and sneezing.

Aldar Properties announced on Tuesday that it will cut 20 percent of school fees and a refund of all payments made toward catering and transport expenses for the third term of the current academic year, to all students enrolled in Aldar Academies and Cranleigh Abu Dhabi. Aldar will also launch ‘All In This Together’ fund to support families impacted by the current circumstances, the company said on Tuesday. As part of this initiative, families will also have the option to pay the remaining amount of the third term fees in instalments in a four-month period prior to the start of…

The Ministry of Health has reported 147 new cases of the novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) according to the update on its official website to monitor novel Coronavirus cases, and the number of active cases reached 2163 cases. The Ministry pointed out that the total number of confirmed cases in the Kingdom has reached 2752 cases so far, of which 551 cases have been recovered. The Ministry of Health called on everyone to adhere to preventive guidelines such as avoiding shaking hands, constantly washing hands, avoiding gatherings and staying home to ensure safety and health, and to contact 937 for inquiries and…

A nine months amnesty for several undocumented foreign workers to legalise their stay or leave has started in Bahrain as part of precautionary measures to prevent the effect of COVID-19. The amnesty will target an estimated 55,000 illegal expatriates of various nationalities. This amnesty is being spearheaded by LMRA. The amnesty will be accepted from today until December 31. Those requesting amnesty don’t need to pay any fines whether they want to stay in Bahrain or wishing to leave to another country. Illegal expatriates with expired or terminated work permits can sponsor themselves and reside in Bahrain by applying for…

The state of Illinois saw a rise of 1,006 cases of COVID-19 and 33 deaths from the virus in the last 24 hours, according to an announcement by the Department of Health at the governor’s press briefing Monday. The state has a total of 12,262 cases and 307 deaths.

The Kuwait Cabinet has today extend a holiday that was supposed to end this week until April 23 as part of the country’s efforts to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19). Under the measures, work at ministries, government departments, and public establishments will be suspended from next Sunday until April 23 and resume on the 26th of April. The Cabinet’s Official Spokesman Tareq Al-Mezrem announced the closure during an online news conference following a cabinet meeting. The Cabinet has also extended the curfew countrywide from today, Monday, from 5 pm until 6 am, until further notice.